


Sticks and Stones

by redninjalass19



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Cultural Differences, Dolores Umbridge is Her Own Warning, Friendship, Gen, Guilt, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Kakashi goes to Hogwarts, Kakashi is a Muggle, Kakashi's song for this story, MACUSA | Magical Congress of the United States of America, Mental Health Issues, Minor Original Character(s), Neville deserves better, Post-Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, Post-Third Shinobi War, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Song: Lovely (Billie Eilish), War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:53:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 114,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26686966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redninjalass19/pseuds/redninjalass19
Summary: They thought he was a cold-blooded killer. He thought they were lazy and weak. However, this wasn't going to stop Kakashi from completing his mission. How hard could guarding this Potter person be? And why were wizards so nosy?
Relationships: Fred Weasley & George Weasley, Hatake Kakashi & Dean Thomas, Hatake Kakashi & Fred Weasley & George Weasley, Hatake Kakashi & Maito Gai | Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi & Neville Longbottom, Hatake Kakashi & Pakkun, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Seamus Finnigan & Dean Thomas
Comments: 130
Kudos: 472
Collections: Rhyne's Chakra Coils, The Harry Potters





	1. Mission

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J K Rowling respectively.  
> I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.
> 
> This disclaimer applies for the whole story but will just be posted here.
> 
> This story is posted on Fanfiction.net but I have decided to post it here too! It will be updated of Fanfiction.net first but I have up to chapter 19 so I'll post it here.
> 
> I'm a very slow updater but I'm very determined so I will finish it.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

A light tapping sound resonated in the mostly empty room. The previous sounds of cloth against metal ceased as the sole occupant look up at the window, seeking the source of the intrusion. The presence of the messenger hawk in the window alerted the young ANBU within that his leader had another mission for him. He silently gathered up his now clean weapons and hid them again within his uniform.

With the exception of his tanto and kunai pouch, he ensured all were hidden from view.

He grabbed his mask and cloak from beside his futon as the hawk continued to tap the window. He turned his sole grey eye to the bird as he started towards the window. He opened it and the hawk gazed at him with sharp golden eyes, the action confirming the completion of its mission. It took off towards the Hokage tower as the ninja stared after it.

The dull grey eye turned to scan the room.

Minimal furniture occupied the room. Near the centre of the room there was a single narrow futon laid out, and against the opposite wall there was a small table with a single chair. A single photo of his old team sat on this table. Three books were piled up by the framed photo, each detailing various aspects of assassination missions. A short bookcase sat beside the chair, each novel sorted alphabetically. There was a small wardrobe containing the rest of his uniforms and his spare masks. His additional weapons were contained in a small chest beside it. The grey walls were bare and the room felt hollow. Crimson marks, reminders of his last mission, still tainted the floor. He knew he should get rid of them, but couldn't find it within him to care.

He opened the window fully after securing his mask and cloak and slipped his lean frame through, closing it quietly behind him.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves was starting to wake up as the night started to recede. Kakashi set off towards the tower travelling the rooftops, ignoring all those below

* * *

Sarutobi sighed as he stared at the mission request on his desk.

He had spent the last hour debating over the decision to accept it but he knew that he had been putting off the inevitable. With the economy of Konoha still weak after the destruction of the Kyuubi the previous year, they needed all the missions that they had the capacity to accept. However, they also had fewer ninja to carry out these missions and to lose such an asset for an entire year... was it worth the payment offered?

In the end, it had been decided that he could not refuse such an offer but there was another reason for accepting. He looked at the papers beside the mission request and a lone grey eye stared back.

Hatake Kakashi, an excellent shinobi with the best mission completions record in Konoha and a valued member of the ANBU Black Ops. Unfortunately, if the reports from his fellow ANBU indicated anything, he was also the most mentally unstable. How he had not died in any of the A or S ranked missions he had been accepting over the past year Sarutobi would probably never know; but the mission in front of him seemed like the perfect opportunity to break the suicide steak.

The request was from an old friend he had met many years ago, not long after the Second Shinobi War had ended, and the mission itself was a simple bodyguard mission. The part that had been the cause of Sarutobi’s indecision was the duration of the mission. To lose such a highly skilled shinobi for a whole year at a time such as this... but the income produced from the mission was too much to ignore. He read over the letter again.

_Dear Hiruzen Sarutobi,_

_It has been a while, old friend, and I hope you are well._

_I wish I could have contacted you at a better time but I am in need of your services. I would like to hire one of your best ninja for a bodyguard mission. This mission shall be financed by the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation set up by myself that opposes Voldemort, a dark wizard that is quickly gaining power once again in our society._

_The person in question is Harry Potter, a now fifth year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Last year, Voldemort attacked Harry and killed a fellow student. Now that he is back I have a horrible feeling that Harry is going to be in danger this year and have decided to take precautions._

_I do not want it known by the rest of the students that Harry is under protection so please send one that could pass as a student; however, Harry himself shall be informed._

_The duration of the mission would be the school year so it would be 10 months from the start of August until June the next year._

_The ninja sent will be equipped the same as any other student, with the Order of the Phoenix financing anything required, and the ninja himself can bring whatever supplies he needs from Konoha himself._

_Upon acceptance of this mission, please find the enclosed sock from within the envelope. This is a portkey, the mechanisms of which I had explained to you long ago. Also enclosed is a necklace that has a translation charm woven into it._

_At 2202 on July 30 th, please instruct the shinobi to take a hold of the sock and he shall be transported to the meeting place where one of the Order will pick him up. He will then be taken back to the Headquarters and introduced to Harry and the rest of the Order._

_Thank you and I hope you will be able to assist us._

_Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Sarutobi looked at the dirty old sock sitting on top of the envelope. He had been wondering why it was there.

He took the cheque for the mission out from under the request and stared at it. It was enough for 2 S ranked missions. There was no way Konoha could refuse in its current condition.

So why had he taken so long to consider?

He knew exactly why.

Kakashi was the perfect shinobi for the job in more ways than his success as a ninja. However, forcing him away into a foreign culture, surrounded by possibly hostile strangers could be detrimental to his mental health, or what was left of it. But as the leader of a powerful shinobi village he knew his duty. He looked up as a slight breeze from the window indicated someone entering the office.

Knelt in front of him was the very shinobi that he had been thinking of.

“Inu, please rise and remove your mask,” he asked, watching the fluid movements of the assassin before him.

Kakashi took off the dog mask off his face and a single grey eye looked at the Hokage, betraying nothing. His other eye was closed, sealing off the gift from his teammate and his customary face mask was in place.

Sarutobi sighed and simply said, “I have a mission for you.”

Kakashi did not react, but merely waited for his leader to continue.

“I have received a request from an old colleague, and from the information given I have concluded that you would be the best choice,” Sarutobi stated, scrutinizing the ninja in front of him.

“Thank you, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi replied in monotone, as if automated.

“It is a long-term bodyguard mission in a foreign country and will be considered an S ranked mission,” continued Sarutobi.

“Your mark is a student named Harry Potter, who has recently come under threat from his enemies, of whom had been thought of as dead. You are to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as an exchange student and allow no one to discover your true mission. You will be supplied with the necessary equipment upon arrival at the meeting place with the client though you are to take your own mission supplies. The codeword the contact will use is Kanabi. Pack for a 10 month mission and report back here in 15 hours in full gear”.

“You are not in ANBU uniform for this mission. You will represent Konoha as a jounin as identities of ANBU are classified”

Sarutobi continued to watch Kakashi, noting the way he digested the information given to him. He wondered if he would ask about the title of the school, if he would demand an explanation at the mention of wizards.

Kakashi merely nodded his head, confirming he had retained the report. Sarutobi again sighed, wishing that the operative would show some sign of being human instead of a drone he was acting as now. He handed Kakashi a paper copy of the mission brief and the necklace that Dumbledore had sent.

“The necklace is for translation purposes since they speak a different language to ourselves. If you tap it on any paper or book you are reading, it will transcribe it into kanji for you”.

“Sort out your affairs and be back for the stated time. Dismissed” Sarutobi concluded, again feeling a slight breeze, but this time from a Shuishin.

Normally, when sending one of his shinobi out on such a long-term mission he would add to the dismissal the words ‘say your goodbyes’.

However, he knew that Kakashi had no one left.

* * *

The air in the meeting room at Grimmauld Place was tense after Moody’s announcement. Each of the wizards at the table looked uneasy, glancing at their neighbours with confused expressions. Lupin decided to break the silence.

“Why would Dumbledore hire a bodyguard? And what is a shinobi?” he questioned, the rest of the room turning their heads for Moody’s reply.

Moody looked down at the letter from Dumbledore. It explained the bare minimum that the members of the Order were required to know but that was it.

He read it over again.

_Order,_

_I have hired a shinobi for the school year to protect Harry due to the events of the previous year._

_He will be undercover as a student and though his primary objective is the bodyguard mission of Harry, he will be keeping an eye on the rest of Hogwarts also._

_Moody, please meet the shinobi at the abandoned park on the next street over at 2203 and ensure that you are not seen by any muggles. His name is Hatake and the codeword is Kannabi._

_Please treat this man with extreme caution._

_He is a trained warrior and is to be treated with respect._

_AD_

“I am surprised that Albus would hire such a man but after the return of ‘You-Know-Who’ it makes sense,” he answered Lupin, pocketing the letter.

“Do you know who he is Moody?” Arthur piped up, noting that Moody seemed to be familiar with the term.

Moody looked at the faces around the table, watching as they waited for his answer.

They were not going to like this.

“A shinobi is their word for ninja, which is what they are. They are paid for missions such as bodyguard work, but they are also soldiers of war, spies, messengers and assassins. I have no doubt that they do other types of missions but I couldn’t list them all,” Moody revealed.

“I met one when I was chasing after a death eater a while back. They were on a different mission to infiltrate some wealthy family’s household and assassinate their son. The only reason I know their mission is because the death eater was the target’s brother. Shinobi are ruthless and will resort to anything to complete their mission. Dumbledore meant it when he said to treat this man with caution and I will say it as well. They are not to be taken lightly.”

More silence followed this revelation. However, it was broken much quicker this time in the form of Molly.

“So we are just going to let a trained killer protect our kids? This is outrageous! And Dumbledore said that this shinobi person is going undercover as a student, how does he expect to do that? It is all very well knowing how to disguise yourself but passing off as a student? What on earth is he thinking?”

Molly fumed in her seat, Arthur trying to calm her down. None looked to disagree with this statement however and Sirius stood up and looked Moody directly in his human eye.

“Is it safe?” was all he said.

Moody looked straight back at him has he digested the hidden meaning behind the question. Would the shinobi hurt anyone outside of the mission parameters and was there a possibility of him hurting the kids?

“Shinobi are professionals. They will not deviate from their mission and they will not go on random killing sprees. Harry and his friends will probably be the safest in the damn school if they have a shinobi watching over them,” he answered, turning to look at Molly.

Kingsley looked at the clock and spoke for the first time in the meeting.

“It is time for this man to arrive. You should go meet him and we can string together our judgments when the man is here to defend himself."

Moody nodded and headed out the door. Life was about to get interesting.

* * *

On the next level of the ancient house, the students were reeling from what had been discussed. Hermione looked over at Harry, trying to see what he was thinking. She could see his fists clenched as he stared at the ground. Ron also looked Harry, his mother’s word resounding in his head.

“So Dumbledore has hired a murderer to spy on me,” were the only words out of his mouth.

“I think he is more of a mercenary than anything by the sound of it. He is being paid to protect you so by the way Moody says it, he should be fine with us,” Hermione pointed out, trying to see the sense in Dumbledore’s actions.

“But still, ‘Mione, hiring a killer to deal with another killer? Doesn’t sound like the best plan that the Professor has come up with,” Ron argued.

He definitely could not see the perks of having a man who could kill on demand watching over them.

Harry turned to his two friends and sighed. It looked like this year was going to be even harder than the last, if that was even possible. And with this so-called ‘shinobi’ in the mix, it seemed danger was literally going to be around every corner.

“Well I think we should listen to Kingsley. There is no use judging someone when there is no evidence to support the theory,” Hermione rationalized, nodding her head to convince herself.

“So all we have until he arrives is that he is paid to kill people and is apparently good at it. But of course, his wonderful personality could make that all okay,” Harry replied, giving Hermione a look that said how much he believed in what he had said.

Hermione glared at him as she stood up.

“Come on, let’s go tell the others”.

Harry and Ron got up and followed Hermione into the twins’ room, their mind in turmoil about the impending arrival.

* * *

Moody had arrived at the park he was to collect the shinobi. He had to admit it was a good spot. The place was falling to pieces and looked like it hadn’t been used in decades. Weeds were popping up everywhere and the rusted metal blended into the night. There was one dim streetlamp on one side of the park, and if it wasn’t for his artificial eye, he wouldn’t be able to see much at all.

The breeze picked up and there was the telltale sign of an incoming portkey. He looked up as a black blur hit the ground. He could see the crouched silhouette of a man, alert and searching for potential danger, with a strangely shaped object in his hand. Moody stepped forward a small pace and immediately stopped as one grey eye turned to him sharply, assessing him as a possible threat.

“Kannabi,” was the only word that Moody spoke, aware of the damage that this shinobi could inflict.

The man hesitated before nodding once and standing to his full height, the object in his hand seeming to vanish. With his electric blue eye, Moody scanned the man and was surprised at what he found.

The shinobi was quite short, barely even taller than Harry, and from what he could glimpse of his face he seemed young; far too young to have already condemned himself to this path. He wore what looked to be a headband around his forehead, which covered his left eye and only slightly tamed the spiky mess of silver hair on top of his head. It had a strange symbol which looked like a leaf on it. He wore a facemask that came to just below his eye and disappeared below his neckline. In fact, it looked like it connected with his shirt.

He wore a form-fitting black sleeveless vest with what looked to be grey body armour strapped to his chest. His upper right arm was bandaged, while the lower part of both arms had fingerless gloves which reached his elbows. Strapped on his forearm were more of the grey armour and the strange symbol appeared again on the metal plated knuckles of the gloves. He wore slightly baggy black trousers were bandaged at the bottom. Oddly, he was wearing black sandals. For some reason, he also had bandages wrapped around his right thigh. There was a short sword on his back and various pouches lining his belt. Moody had no doubt that there were many other weapons hidden around his person. He was carrying a small duffle bag, which was surprisingly, black.

However, the oddest thing about the shinobi’s outfit was the red scarf that was wrapped around his neck.

The rest of his uniform, Moody could understand. The outfit was designed for stealth, protection and efficency. But even in the faded light, the red scarf stood out proudly, daring Moody to look at it.

The shinobi stepped forward and sketched a short bow.

“I am Hatake Kakashi and I am here representing the mission request made to Konoha by Dumbledore-sama,” the boy said, the voice finally causing Moody to realize that he could only be as old as Harry himself.

Moody nodded at the boy and gruffly told him to follow as he turned to head back to Grimmauld Place.

They were really not going to like this.


	2. Perspective

Kakashi silently followed the gruff old man that appeared to be his contact, willing the nausea caused by the strange shunshin to subside. It was only pure reflex that had prevented him from diving headfirst into the ground. Sandaime-sama had warned him it was more volatile than the shunshin they were trained to use, but apparently it was the only way to travel such a large distance to where his mission was based in decent time.

He had called it a ‘portkey’.

Kakashi understood that this culture would have strange names to what was familiar to him, but the concepts did not seem to differ.

‘Porkey’ worked much like a shunshin, but it was totally impractical.

‘Magic’ worked like chakra.

‘Wizards’ were the shinobi of this world.

‘Hogwarts’ sounded exactly like the academy.

He did not particularly care about the weird phrasing or the primitiveness of their travelling methods. It was a bodyguard mission. All he had to do was make sure the mark survived the year. But he was an assassination specialist. He was more suited for ending lives rather than protecting them.

His team was proof of that.

However, it was not his place to question Sandaime-sama. He would accept missions given to him and he’d either complete them, or he would die. He was not really bothered which one anymore.

He turned his gaze to the man escorting him, watching the lurching steps and listening to the constant beat of the rough, gnarled staff. His overall appearance matched his staff and he almost had the air of a veteran; he did not seem like a man easily defeated. That leg was not lost on a whim.

And that eye.

It was the wrong colour and the abilities probably differed to what a genuine one could do, but it reminded him strongly of the Hyūga clan’s Byakugan. Even now he had the nagging feeling he was being watched; but he could only sense the man in front of him and he could not smell anything that could indicate danger. As the wizard turned the corner and headed to a row of duplicate houses, Kakashi partially switched his concentration to analyzing their base, still keeping tabs on the strange cripple.

He had to concede that it was well hidden in plain sight.

It looked identical to its neighbours though it looked slightly more worn, it was sturdy. However, he wondered how they had survived this long with all the security breaches they were flaunting. One glimpse at the place was all it took to assess 6 different points of possible entry and 5 secure positions for optimum surveillance. And this was apparently a ‘secret’ organisation. They weren’t doing very much to keep it that way. Though there was something ‘off’ about the house that he could not quite determine.

The old man stopped in front of the door of no. 12, beckoning the shinobi as he passed through the doorway. Kakashi followed, though not blindly. Unnoticed by the wizard, Kakashi thoroughly checked the doorway before stepping through. Or at least, he thought it was overlooked as he could not sense the same presence dissecting his movements.

He noted the tail end of the old man’s rumpled coat passing through another doorway about 2 metres into the narrow corridor. He followed much slower, constantly alert for danger in this new environment. With all the gaping holes in their security, he would not take any chances.

These ‘wizards’ were careless and they would not last very long if they continued like this.

Kakashi turned into the same doorway his contact had entered. All the faces within turned to look at him, eyes piercing, trying to figure him out. Kakashi gazed back, eyes blank and posture relaxed, giving nothing away.

* * *

Moody watched the young shinobi as he faced the rest of the Order.

He knew that shinobi were exceptionally trained and that they wouldn’t send a rookie on this kind of mission, but even just the walk from the park to Grimmauld had unnerved him. He had made no sound. Not one step. The only reason he knew the shinobi was there was due to his eye and he had a feeling that the shinobi knew exactly what he was doing, and how to counter it.

He noted the boy taking in the room, but his cold, apathetic demeanor never wavered in the slightest. Stepping forward, he decided to be the mediator between the two sides, something he would never have thought he was suited to. But he had the most experience in dealing with ninja, limited as it was and the others may not know how to handle him.

“This is Hatake, the shinobi mentioned in Albus’s letter. Hatake, meet the Order of the Phoenix. Call me Moody and this is Arthur, Molly, Lupin, Tonks, Hestia, Kingsley and Sirius,” Moody summed up, indicating to each member with a twitch of his staff.

The boy nodded once to them, but there was no respect or greeting in the movement.

“I am Hatake Kakashi and I am here representing the mission request made to Konoha by Dumbledore-sama,” he relied, in the exact tone of voice he had when he had said the same to Moody.

It was as if he were a drone, the voice dead and low, despite the youth Moody could discern within it. Though it appeared that he was the only one to pick up on his young tone.

“Could you perhaps expand on that? Maybe a bit more about yourself or how you plan to go about this mission?” Lupin spoke up, as politely as he could manage without possibly insulting the new arrival.

Hatake turned his sole grey eye to focus on Lupin.

It was empty.

Dead.

As if he had been subjected to a dementor’s kiss, but Moody knew that they did not have such creatures where the shinobi originated from.

“I am not required to divulge anything pertaining to the mission unless it is directly to the client,” he replied in the same monotone.

It would not have surprised Moody to discover that he had several phrases he cycled on repeat, in the exact same way. Lupin looked surprised at the response, glancing to Tonks on his right.

Sirius took over.

“What he meant was you could relax a little and we were curious about how you would be protecting my godson. We know a bit about your profession but overall we are in the dark.”

Keen dark eyes looked to Hatake for a response, hoping he would answer to the more friendly tone of voice.

“I am not required to divulge anything pertaining to the mission unless it is directly to the client, and there is no requirement for you to be informed about any information regarding myself or my profession,” was the only answer he got.

“We cannot simply just accept only your name and the bare bones of your mission,” Hestia piped up, disliking the detached apathy that Hatake treated them with.

There was no answer.

“I was wondering, a minor thing, how do expect to pass as a boy from Hogwarts? The height will work but it is hard to judge your age with all that covering on your face,” Kingsley asked, going for a more specific question to try and glean a straight answer.

“I am adequate for the mission,” was the reply.

Moody could see the rising tension from within the Order as Hatake defied their attempts to gain more information. In the corner of his good eye, he could see Molly descending further into anger with each rebounded question. She had already been against the idea of having a killer-for-hire near Harry and the others, but it seemed the cold, unresponsive front the shinobi was portraying was ingraining that opinion even further.

Moody merely waited for the inevitable outburst. He concluded that he was a terrible mediator.

“How are we supposed to let a complete stranger, who refuses to tell us anything about himself, near our kids? You kill for a living! How do we know that ‘You-Know-Who’ had not offered you a higher price to kill Harry?” Molly cried, unable to contain herself any further.

Hatake at first stood silent, as if digesting the accusations that had been hurled at him. Then he spoke.

“The parameters of the mission which include the protection of Potter- _san_ shall not be breached. Until the mission is completed, I cannot waver from this objective,” in the same monotone he had used since he had first met Moody in the park.

Molly’s fury grew at the detached reply and opened her mouth to again vent her frustrations upon the shinobi, but Lupin spoke up.

“After your mission is indeed completed, if someone paid the correct price, would you kill Harry?”

The blood drained from Molly’s face as she slumped into her seat, processing the weight of Lupin’s question. Though she had thought he was a liability due to his occupation, the reality that he could murder her practically-adopted son had not quite sunk in until this moment.

Hatake looked straight at Lupin, his eyes still cold and without conscience.

“Yes, he answered, sharply nodding his head once to ensure they understood.

Shock rippled around the room.

How could Dumbledore hire such a creature, which could turn on their charge the moment they were given the opportunity?

“Why?” blurted Tonks, not entirely meaning to let it slip.

“The mission must be completed,” Hatake droned, looking away from Lupin.

“So someone points you at some random guy, tells you to kill them and you do? Just like that? You don’t even question it you just slaughter them for the money?” Tonks shot back, unwilling to comprehend such a mentality.

“Yes, if that is the mission,” he simply said.

Molly had managed to regain her voice and it rose with every word.

“You murder people; you would kill a child, all for the sake of having a bit more cash? You are absolutely insane! You’re a MONSTER!”

Hatake merely glanced at the red-faced ginger and remained silent.

“But you say that no harm will come to Harry as long as the mission is ongoing?” Hestia asked, still unsure of how to completely process him.

“What? You think murderers suddenly have a code?” Molly sneered, sitting down as she continues to glare at the shinobi.

Moody spoke up for the first time since the start of the disastrous meeting.

“Can your methods of doing things cover for your lack of magic?” he questioned, needing to confirm the only thing he had doubts about.

“Yes, my _chakra_ should be adequate for mimicking your _jutsu,"_ he confirmed, cementing Moody’s belief about his ability to blend in with the students.

“Wait!” Arthur exclaimed, bolting from his seat. “He’s a Muggle? The man guarding Harry from the most powerful dark wizard of our time is a Muggle?”

Hatake glanced from Arthur to Moody, though still expressionless, Moody could imagine the question burning from within.

“A Muggle is someone without magic. Even though you can use this ‘ _chakra_ ’ as you call it you are still classified as a Muggle since you can’t use a wand. We will need to get you a fake one though use your ‘ _chakra_ ’ to get the effect of the actual spells. The necklace that Albus gave you, that will also help you to blend in. It doesn’t only work as translation but you won’t be as affected by magic as Muggles normally would, so you can see what true wizards can. That’s why you could see the house.”

An afterthought crossed his mind.

“What is a ‘ _jutsu_ ’? Moody asked, unfamiliar with the term.

Hatake continued to look at him, giving nothing away.

“ _Jutsu_ is like your spells and _chakra_ is like your magic,” he replied, this being the most unique information they had extracted from so far.

The Order, as a collective, blinked. Though they were not probably not exactly the same, it was a simple but understandable comparison. Though that statement had soothed the room somewhat, the Order, with the exception of Moody, were still against the idea of the detached killer being responsible for Harry’s safety.

Moody decided to play the gamble that could settle the whole issue, no matter how reluctantly.

“He is going to be watched 24/7 at Hogwarts and I seriously doubt Albus would hire a man that would put Harry at any serious risk. Do you doubt his judgment that much?”

He could see the guilty faces for each of the members.

He had them.

Albus had helped each and every one of them at some point or another, including himself. He had trusted them all with the burden of being a part of the Order of the Phoenix; the least they could do was return it. Though it did not mean they would be any less vigilant. He saw Sirius stand and face the shinobi, who had not even twitched since he had last spoken.

“We shall allow you to carry out your mission. However, should any harm come to Harry I doubt your killer instincts can save you from us.”

Hatake stared at him.

“You are unable to interfere with the mission and it shall be completed. I do not need your permission.”

Sirius glared at the shinobi, hating the complete disregard for their combat abilities.

Moody, however, was extremely surprised. He wasn’t a complete rock. Something had shown through the solid exterior. A hint of annoyance had flashed within the sole grey eye, however brief it had been.

Sirius called to the trio, knowing full well that they could hear him.

“Harry, Hermione, Ron, get down here!”

The loud thundering of multiple pairs of feet was heard descending from the old staircase. The Golden Trio slammed into the room, eyes immediately locking onto to dark figure standing a little off to the side, which merely looked at them blankly. That was the first round over with, Moody thought. The second was going to be even worse, judging by the horrified looks on the teenagers’ faces.

* * *

These ‘wizards’ were absolutely ridiculous. 

Demanding answers as if they were entitled to them. As if they had the right. And they did not even have the decency to attempt it subtly. No, they just came out and asked. Like they actually thought that was an appropriate way to gather intelligence.

They would make horrendous shinobi.

The only one who may survive in this so-called ‘war’ they were ‘fighting’ was the fake-Byakugan user, Moody. He at least had seen something resembling battle. And the other man, Sirius. He was not as worn as Moody but he had not had it easy either. Well, compared to the rest of these ‘wizards’. They were hopeless, especially that orange-haired woman. He had never met anyone who was so opposed to death before. The idea of him taking the life of another seemed to actually repulse her. Did she not understand duty, or protecting your team, your family?

Death was natural. He just sped things up a little.

Had they not figured out that they were going to have to kill in order to win? Did they think if they beat these ‘dark’ wizards they were just going to march happily to jail and never try the same thing again?

These thoughts never reached his face. They never did anymore. The only tiny crack of his stone wall was the flash of annoyance even he could not hide. It was barely there, but Moody had noticed due to the fake-Byakugan.

That thing was going to become a problem.

Was this how his enemies felt when he had used the Sharingan?

But he had kept his slip-up from the others, who were extremely unobservant for people treating him like an enemy. They had actually thought they could prevent him from completing this mission. Actually thought he needed their ‘permission’. The pure arrogance in that statement, especially from people who fought with twigs, had angered him. He had not felt anger since before Sensei had died.

That was almost a year ago now. He did not like it. He had always been good at controlling his emotions since even before the White Fang had died. It was only around his team, around Sensei, Obito and Rin, that he could not.

That he didn’t.

But they were gone and he had not slipped since during his time in ANBU.

These ‘wizards’ had caused it, by a simple statement. Many had tried their luck at claiming his rising bounty and he had heard much worse even from his temporary teams he was forced into during S-ranked missions.

Nobody had ever doubted him though. Not even his enemies.

Obito had challenged him with his _oroka_ competitions. Rin had scolded him when forgot that they were only human. Sensei had beaten him into the ground to make him confront his weaknesses. They had seemed to doubt him because they had cared, because he was his best friend, because she always helped him, because he was family.

What right did these people have to judge and doubt him?

Only his team could do that. And they never had, despite all the reasons they should have.

And they were gone.

Because of him.

He took a in a slow breath, consciously shoving away the guilt, the crimson scarf around his neck feeling heavier than before. Outwardly, he showed nothing, face blank and uncaring and his body relaxed. His mind soon followed. However, his kunai were within easy reach. He heard the loud thumping of footsteps, which ingrained further his opinion of their inadequacy.

They all truly would make horrendous shinobi.

He sensed three bodies enter the room, though the noise would have given them away to any genin within 300 metres. The trio looked straight at him, obviously having heard the Order members failed attempt to verbally dissect him.

They were worse than academy students. From the angry looks on their open faces, they had the same opinion as the orange-haired woman. It was almost funny that they thought they had a choice. The skinny boy with the round glasses spoke up.

“I do not need some psycho babysitter watching me!” he ranted glaring at the Order as if they were the ones who had forced this upon him.

Kakashi looked at him with a stone-cold glare. They were not going through this again.


	3. Friction

Harry looked at the shinobi, noticing the cold, dagger-like gaze that was directed straight at them. He felt an involuntary shudder travel the length of his spine.

If someone had asked Harry to describe a stereotypical murderer before Voldemort and Pettigrew, this would be it. The dark, ominous colours, the menacing blade upon his back, the fact his features were almost entirely covered. The odd features about him were a red scarf draped around his neck as it seemed out of place against the dark background, and the hair which was a mess of spiky silver.

But it was the sole, grey eye that convinced him.

It was dead, dull, despite the hard glare. Empty like the sharks in the movies that Dudley used to watch. But it still felt dangerous, like one wrong move could deliver you into those merciless jaws.

This is what they thought could protect him?

He didn’t even need to be coddled in the first place but they were seriously suggesting this guy?

Harry turned to glare at the Order, the ice fading from his body as a raging inferno replaced it.

“I don’t need some psycho babysitter watching me!” he shouted, furious at ‘protection’ forced upon him.

First they were keeping secrets, insisting that he was too young to fight as part of the Order. This was HIS fight. Voldemort killed his parents, had killed Cedric because of him, and caused trouble every year since he had started at Hogwarts. It was his right more than any of them.

Now they wanted some foreign Muggle to ‘protect’ him? A killer, just like Voldemort.

There was no way in hell that was going to happen.

He turned to the shinobi, the anxiety he had first felt when laying eyes on him gone, replaced by indignant fury.

“You can go back to whatever pit you crawled out from. I don’t need protection, I can look after myself. You would just be another problem,” he announced, his stance unconsciously becoming defensive.

Hatake continued to look at him, not reacting in the slightest,

Sirius sighed and stood up, drawing Harry’s attention, a resigned frown upon his weathered features.

“We are not keen on it either, but Dumbledore thought it was necessary so we accept his judgement.”

Harry’s face darkened further, unwilling to accept it as easily as the Order members had.

“No. I refuse. I will not be followed and spied on constantly for the next year and especially not by someone like him.”

He turned back to the dark figure.

“Leave. Your ‘services’ are not required.”

The shinobi glared at him unflinchingly, though Harry could have sworn the eye had been grey, not black.

“You are the mission, not the client,” was all he said.

Harry bristled at the not-so-hidden insult. Why would no one listen to him?

“And you are a murderer, not a bodyguard,” he retorted, the words dripping with obvious disdain.

Tonks stood this time, the movement again drawing in rage-filled green eyes. What was she going to say to try and make this better? What could she say?

“Harry, you need to calm down. We hate this too and trust us, he will be closely monitored. But if we had someone like this last year, maybe Cedric would be alive. Maybe it could prevent the same thing happening again.”

Harry features shifted from rage to shock. She was seriously using that as a way to convince him? Talking him into hanging around a murderer by bringing up the victim of another? He asked her so, his tone now a mixture of disbelief and anger.

“Nothing will happen to anyone else this year. Now I know they are coming I can do better, it’s my responsibility,” he continued.

The shinobi interrupted.

“You claim that you can protect yourself, but can you claim to have the ability to protect others? Are you willing to bet their lives?” he asked, showing the first sign of interest in the wizards though his expression did not change.

“What would you know about protecting people? You would only do it for the money, you don’t understand about losing your friends, watching them die in front of you. You are probably the one who killed them!” Harry immediately shot back, barely registering the words as he spoke them.

How dare he?

The room suddenly felt suffocated.

Harry felt the earlier shudders again transverse his spine, though they became far more intense. His heart started to beat faster and his breathing came in gasps as he was forced to one knee. He was frozen, like the prey staring into the eyes of his predator.

And he was.

The sole black eye reflected nothing, as if absorbing the light that should be reflected. Harry could almost imagine the grim set of his jaw beneath the mask. He could feel Ron and Hermione in the same position beside him, and the rest of the Order were not doing any better.

Suddenly, the truth slammed to the forefront of Harry’s mind.

This was not some mindless murderer. This was a trained killer. This was a man who could assassinate him in more ways than even Voldemort ever could.

Then it was gone, and he could breathe once more, though it was still uneven. Unfrozen, he began to shake uncontrollably.

The shinobi turned and strode silently towards the door. Moody, who had seemed to have recovered the quickest, offered to show him to his room.

“No, I will be fixing the security flaws and securing the area tonight,” the shinobi replied, once again in a drone-like manner, though his shoulders were a fraction higher than they had been before.

The scarf he wore around his neck seemed to shimmer as he moved, like a drop of blood.

He left the room, Harry and the Order still trying to recover from the strange pressure.

* * *

Kakashi headed out the room, feeling the eyes bore into the back of his head and hearing them try to control their breathing after he had subdued his killing intent.

He was horrified at himself, at the loss of control he had just exhibited in front of a host of strangers. It was unheard of for Kakashi to disgrace himself in such a manner since long before Sensei and even back then it was rare.

Shinobi Rule 25: Shinobi should never show emotion.

Even before the White Fang had died, Kakashi had learned and followed the shinobi rules. However, after the older Hatake had fallen upon his sword, Kakashi had lived by them religiously.

Until Kannabi Bridge. Heck, until Obito. His teammate has always known the correct buttons to press when it came to Kakashi, even if he himself had not known it. His lateness, his uncontrollable volume, those stupid proclamations that he was going to be Hokage. The obnoxious orange goggles he always wore to hide his tears, which were now buried under a pile of rocks somewhere in Kusagakure. Buried with him. He had worn his heart on his sleeve, which had annoyed the hell out of Kakashi. Annoyed him enough that he could not hide his own anymore.

But Obito died, and he had no one to break that control anymore, though he still had Rin. Then Rin had been killed, and he wished he could never feel again.

The lesson that those who disobeyed the rules were trash, but those who abandoned their friends were worse than trash was ingrained into his being. He understood why shinobi were never meant to feel. Shinobi did not ever show their emotions, they controlled them. It was important skill that was employed in the majority of their missions and contributed to the success of many. However, Kakashi also thought another reason they had to control them was because they lost so much and caused others to lose just as much. Controlling them made that easier to handle somehow.

He blamed the Potter boy for the slip.

It was like the older members of the Order all over again. Assuming he could actually prevent him from completing his mission, thinking he would not complete the mission correctly. Only Hokage-sama and Dumbledore-sama had any say about the mission. Potter-san and his two tag-a-longs reminded him of genin in a way; as if the war was their first mission after graduating the academy. They still had that bright eyed cockiness about them that was driven out of genin in their first year, either through D-ranks or through disastrous C-ranks. And like green genin they also did not like the idea of killing someone for the mission. He hoped that they would get over it as quickly as the genin in Konoha did.

But they were fighting a war. Kakashi would have thought they would have more dealings with death than they have had so far. It seemed that these ‘students’ were extraordinarily sheltered for people of their age. It also did not help that Potter-san had placed him into the same category he had Voldemort, which meant he trusted his bodyguard as much as he did the man who had tried to kill him several times and had succeeded in killing his friend.

Cedric appeared to be his name and by the way Potter-san was still reacting to his death, they must have been close. But to hear Potter-san announce that he could protect himself and that nothing like last year would happen again, it sounded horribly familiar. He had completely disregarded his friends. He had said that he could protect himself and that it was his responsibility.

His, not theirs.

He had only been mentioned the others when he had claimed that HE would not allow anything to happen. It was selfish, and something he would have told Sensei in the same situation before he had joined Team Minato. He did not want the trio to end up like his team. So he had spoken up, without being prompted, to ask him the question that he wished someone had asked him, that he wished he had considered the answer to before he lost everything.

‘You claim that you can protect yourself, but can you claim to have the ability to protect others? Are you willing to bet their lives?’

He had, and he had lost.

But Potter had replied. He knew the boy was ignorant, that all the wizards were, to his world, to his past. He also knew it was going to stay that way. But Potter had been far too close to the truth.

It was his fault that Obito had died, he knew that. The same as he knew that he was the one to kill Rin, whether it was her choice or not. He still felt the phantom blood on his hand, the warmth that had surrounded it, the fading pulse of her heart, the squelch with every movement of his limb, after the _Chidori_ had pierced her chest.

The scarf around his neck tightened, the red shining crimson.

He had indeed killed his friends but he did not need some selfish, ignorant wizard to shove it into his face. That was the statement that caused Kakashi’s loss of control. He had never intended to unleash the killing intent that had exploded within him, but he could not help it, to his chagrin. The anger he had felt at that moment had ruled him and he had wanted to smash something sharp into Potter’s scrawny face.

He went up the staircase, the creaks that were ever present in the old wood remaining silent beneath his light step.

He needed to fix the security.

After he had washed his hands.

* * *

Dumbledore read over the letter he had just received.

_Albus,_

_I accept this mission on the behalf of Konohagakure and thank you for requesting our services._

_Indeed, I too wish that we could converse in better circumstances, but it is not to be, due to the times and events we find ourselves in._

_I have selected one of our best operatives to complete the mission requested and he fits perfectly into the majority of the criteria that you stated. Now, ordinarily you would only be provided with minimal response that we have accepted it and troops have been sent, however, due to the nature of this mission, I understand that you should be given more information about the operative._

_Please understand that is this is classified and not to be shared._

_The operative is Kakashi Hatake, as you would say in your culture, and he is already a long-standing solider within our ranks. He is a jounin, with a perfect mission record, and is more than capable of duplicating your magic with his chakra, if you supply him with a fake ‘wand’ as I recall you calling them._

_He is the perfect age for the mission and has extensive espionage experience under his hitai-ate. He will have no problems completing the mission issued to him._

_However, old friend, I am also asking a favour of you. Help him, however you can. He is one of the best shinobi we have to offer, however, he has also lost everyone he has ever cared about so please treat him with respect and not his age._

_He deserves so much more._

_I unfortunately received your letter the same day that your ‘portkey’ was due to transport Kakashi. I have fixed the communications breach so this letter should reach you in good time._

_He has been given a brief overview of the various aspects of your culture though he will be able to pick everything up quickly and excel._

_Sarutobi Hiruzen_

_Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure_

So there was still some issues with owl delivery to the Elemental Nations, he mused. It made sense that such a secretive culture lived in a place where it was difficult to not only communicate with, but to find.

It had surprised him though that Hiruzen had decided to share so much about the young man he had sent. Though to others, it looked as if Hiruzen had shared next to nothing, but to him who had known the old veteran for so long, he knew to read between the lines.

Kakashi Hatake was an extraordinary young man with intelligence and ability far beyond others of any age. He is roughly the same age as Harry, though it seemed he had started his career very young. However, he has not had the easiest life which could pose a problem when it came to interacting with other students. He will not be used to the kind of environment that Hogwarts creates. Overall, it did seem to be the best choice though it would certainly keep things interesting.

He folded the letter placing it to one side and took another two blank sheets of parchment, writing a short message onto them. He turned to the owl which had delivered Hiruzen’s letter, watching her drink the water he had laid upon the desk on her arrival. The owl looked up and took the two envelopes that Dumbledore offered.

“To Minerva and Severus please, and then you can rest in the owlery,” he told her, petting her head briefly in thanks.

She spread her wings and took off, leaving out of the same open window that she had entered.

Dumbledore glanced once more at the letter. Indeed, this year would be interesting. He returned to the paperwork he had been trudging through before the arrival of the owl. It seemed Cornelius was becoming far more paranoid than in years past.

* * *

The house was dark and silent, the night chill sweeping through the air.

Kakashi returned to the attic, which appeared to have doubled as his room. The house was now in far better shape than it had been when he had arrived. The surveillance points that he had spotted when first approaching the premises were completely obstructed though Kakashi was sure to check each of them when he passed them on his patrol.

The points of possible entry he had also noticed were now covered, even if he could not prevent them altogether due to the nature of the house. He had placed one Nin dog at each of the 6 points though he knew he could not do this every night for the next month. He supposed that Dumbledore-sama had sent for him so early was so he could acclimatize to their society. It should not be too hard, he had adapted to far more radical situations before as part of a mission, and he could do so again.

But he knew that he would not be getting much sleep for the next month as there was only so much he could prevent and he could not ask his dogs to stay up every night. It was probably better though that he did not succumb to slumber, however, as it would leave him more vulnerable in a house full of hostiles.

No, it would be better for all if he did not sleep, though he could not put it off forever.

He mostly just did not want to see the betrayed, dying faces of his team so early into a new mission. But those dreams haunted his thoughts throughout the night as he patrolled, as if mocking him that he had thought he could escape.

As if he had thought he could have a moment of peace.


	4. Contrast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Bold' = Japanese

It had been twelve days since Kakashi had first arrived at the dingy, old house and after observing and cataloging the behaviour and mannerisms of the wizards for two weeks, he had reached a solid conclusion.

Wizards were without doubt the strangest group of people he had ever encountered.

After his slip-up on the first evening, they had avoided even looking at him for the first week. He still was not quite sure why. Yes, he had unleashed some killing intent but it had been a mistake, so it was barely strong enough to affect even genin. Despite this, he had begun his mission and shadowed Potter around the Black household diligently, while at night keeping watch over the old place. Every time he had entered a new room, the people within hesitated slightly, their eyes darting towards him briefly.

They then went back to what they had been doing previously, but there was still tension in their stance. Disregarding how the arrangement had come to be, it worked for Kakashi. They ignored him and he returned the favour.

Potter had been especially jumpy for the first couple of days, but since Kakashi had barely left his side during the waking hours, he acclimatised.

From Kakashi's observations though, the majority of the time Potter did not even know he was there. He was not even trying, but apparently, they still had trouble keeping track of him. Kami-sama help them if he ever put any effort into it. However, there had been one incident five days after his arrival, involving the Weasley twins, who had not only caused a stir but also caused most of them to overcome their fear of him.

* * *

_The younger members of the house were cleaning out one of the dining rooms, as they had been cleaning the premises for the past few days under the orders of the loud, orange-haired woman._

_Kakashi sat in his usual spot, the far right-hand corner, which allowed him the optimum view of the room and enabled him to easily watch and reach the exits._ _He had sensed there was something different about the doorway that day, but after thoroughly checking each nook and cranny it had to offer, he found nothing._

 _The twins had returned from the kitchen to tell Potter and the others that lunch had been served, after leaving to check if they were allowed to have a break despite only starting work three hours ago._ _Why wizards ate so much was beyond him, as they actually did very little, and to have three cooked meals a day was just plain gluttonous. Fortunately, she had never offered anything to him._ _They had all stomped out of the room, causing Kakashi to thank Kami-sama that his nose was sharper than his ears. He followed at the rear, the wider range of vision allowing him to keep his eye on them more effectively._

_However, there was something that day that was different than the previous ones since he had arrived._

_The twins had stopped outside the doorway to wait for him._

_This had alerted Kakashi that they were concocting something that he would more than likely regret, as despite their nature as pranksters, they were about as subtle as his_ Doton: Doryūheki.

 _He checked the threshold once more before exiting; easily ensuring it would go unnoticed by the twins as they did not have the same observational skills as the fake-Byakugan user. He looked over at the duo to note their reaction._ _The twins were glancing at each other with wide eyes, as if they had found the answer they had been looking for._ _Kakashi had glared at them, for once confused, as he had noticed nothing. He had then shrugged it off, going through to the kitchen where the others in the room were by then used to his silent steps._

 _The 'trio', as they were known, were sat at the table alongside the youngest Weasley, and the mother of the hoard of carrot-tops was buzzing about the bubbling pots._ _Though he had dismissed it for the moment, he paid particular attention to the twins as they entered the room._ _They looked over at him and the shorter one asked,_

_"How old are you?"his expression showing that he found the answer already, but needed final confirmation._

_Kakashi wondered briefly why this piece of information was so valuable to them, as though he had no intention of revealing it, it was hardly the most significant thing they could ask him._ _Silence was his response._

_"We know you are either eighteen or younger so you might as well tell us," the taller one continued, unable to hide his gleeful look any longer._

_It was the same look they both got when a prank was successful._

_Kakashi's eye sharpened, breaking down their previous actions to attempt to dissect at what point they had pulled something. Like the doorway, he could find nothing._ _The doorway._ _The thought struck him, though anyone looking at him would be unable to tell there was anything crossing his mind._ _What had they done to the doorway?_

_The bushy-haired girl spoke up, her tone dubious._

_"How would you know that? There is no way he is that young."_

_The twins again looked each other and back to her, at the same time saying,_

_"Age line," both sounding extremely pleased with themselves._

_"We wanted to know…_

_"…how old he was, cause his hair makes him look like a geezer…"_

_"…so we took a page out of Dumbledore's book, though it was actually Percy's…"_

_"…and surrounded the dining room doorway with an age line…"_

_"…that only allowed those eighteen and below to pass it…_

_"…and he did," finished the shorter one, as they were each speaking in turn._

_Kakashi managed to follow the broken speech, and gleaned that they had put a jutsu on the door to find out his age. That was why he had felt something was off with the door, the same as he had thought something was off with this house when he had first seen it._

_It was 'magic', but since he only knew it was there due to Dumbledore-sama's necklace, he still had bother recognizing it._ _It was devious, though-out and executed reasonably well. If they had not indicated anything at the doorway, it would have been an excellent plan._ _There was hope for those two, though he felt disappointed he had not recognized the trap. This place was turning him soft._ _Still, how very shinobi of them._

 _The population of the kitchen had turned to look at Kakashi._ _This was why he did not want them to know. Not only was it dangerous to reveal too much about yourself, but judging by the first day, they would not react well to this kind of information._

_"Wait, so you are at most about a year older than Fred and George?" the younger Weasley boy asked, his mouth hanging open, allowing Kakashi the perfect view of whatever he had shoved in there._

_"And you might not even be that?" the bushy one continued._

_While the younger ones at the table looked at him in utter shock, and the two at the doorway congratulated each other, the woman had stopped buzzing about and was looking at him._

_To Kakashi's surprise, he noted he expression to be a cross between shock and pity._ _He bristled._ _He did not want pity. He did not need pity._ _He hated it._ _Others in the village had looked him like that, when he had lost Rin, and they had increased in number after the death of Sensei._ _Why would she look at him like that? Why did this stranger feel sorry for someone she was ready to maim only a few days ago?_

_"So they must have started you young? Did you even get a choice? You must not know any better," the woman mused, almost as if talking to herself._

_Kakashi stared at her, almost unable to comprehend that she actually asked those questions. Seriously, was age that much of an issue?_

_They came from totally different cultures. In this one they happened to baby anyone still attending their academy and the older ones were not that much better. In his, they trained young so they would be better shinobi in the future. Were they all idiots?_

_Kakashi summoned Pakkun, ensuring that the others could not see the hand signs. In a puff of smoke the small pug appeared, looking at his surrounding with distaste._

_"_ **What's this dump** _?" he asked, looking the pudgy faces of the strangers who were staring at him, for some reason looking startled._

 _" **Mission. Watch the small one until I get back** ,_ _" Kakashi replied, already leaving the room._

_Pakkun sat where Kakashi had vacated, spotting the small, black-haired boy that had been indicated. He memorised the smell so he could not lose him._

_Kakashi stalked about the house, doing his usual nightly checks, though it was only the afternoon.._

Osekkaina _wizards_.

* * *

After the revelation of his age that day, though they could not pinpoint it exactly, the attitude towards Kakashi shifted slightly. They still darted their eyes towards him when he entered the room behind Potter, but now they lingered, as if instead of fearing the unknown they wished to solve the puzzle. Their previous fear was practically gone, as if being the same age as the twins had removed any possible danger. He was sure if would be even worse if they found out he was actually a year younger.

It was degrading, as if his ability as a shinobi did not matter until he reached the correct age.

It reminded him of the days when he had graduated from the academy, as many thought a 5-year old genin would be of no use in the forces, no matter how capable they were. It was worse when he became chunin, as he was expected to lead a squad but when they were at least a decade older, it was highly unlikely that they would ever listen. His age had always been an obstacle, even as a jounin, as many doubted him merely because he had been eleven. The only time he had escaped this prejudice was when he had joined the ANBU Black ops. Everyone was equal and they followed the instructions of their captain, no matter the age of the individual.

Their success spoke for them.

But for this mission, he had been reduced to a jounin, and though he was now fifteen which was a 'respectable' age in Konoha, here even eighteen was judged to be too young. It was frustrating. The wizards picked up nothing of his thoughts, as after the first day he was not going to be careless enough to alert them to his true feelings again. All he had to do was protect Potter and ensure the security of the house until they went to Hogwarts. But before they could go to the school Potter had to appear at a trial for 'use of underage magic in front of a muggle'.

Apparently there was an age limit to using their chakra. No wonder Dumbledore-sama had contacted Sandaime-sama. Potter would never survive if his only defence in this war was banned simply because he was not born two years earlier. By this point Kakashi could only wonder how this Voldemort person had not won years ago.

* * *

Harry looked down at the letter he had received just before the shinobi had arrived. His trial was tomorrow; the decision of whether he could return to Hogwarts would be known in 24 hours.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle._

_The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_However, following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided your hearing. You should therefore consider yourself suspended from school pending further inquires._

_As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on the twelfth of August._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_Improper Use of Magic Office_ _Ministry of Magic_

Ever since he had told everyone what had happened at the cemetery in the final of the Cup, he swore that the Ministry was jumping at any chance to discredit him. How could they be so blind to the treat of Voldemort? He was back and they didn't believe him. Refused to believe it.

It was frustrating.

Although, the shinobi hovering over his every move for the past two weeks had been almost as annoying. Hatake had taken his mission far too seriously; no one was going to attack him in Grimmauld. They would have to find the house first and there were aurors all over the place. Not that they were needed. He was perfectly capable of protecting himself. Though most of the time he didn't even register the ninja. He must have been trying to be discreet as there were only a few occasions that Harry had managed to confirm his location.

Though how he could miss the mess of bright silver hair he hadn't quite figured out yet.

However, the fact he could not be older than Fred and George had shocked him. He had though the shinobi was much older, though he couldn't put his wand on exactly what it was. Maybe it was the hair.

Now he knew though, the dark, ominous figure he had met the first day disappeared and was replaced by a weirdly dressed, but still creepy muggle. The scarf remained the strangest thing about him though. But now instead of crimson like blood it was a deep red, like what is found on the hearts of valentine cards. It did not match him at all, though he would look strange without it.

But he still had trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that such a young guy had already killed; and by the sound of it, had been doing it for years. How old must he have been when he started? It couldn't have been as long as when they had started at Hogwarts. A murderer at thirteen? He didn't seem so bad now as he was probably raised to do it; he wouldn't know the right thing to do. Overall though, he was still torn at which to be more surprised at; his age or the talking dog.

The shinobi had not even twitched but there had been a puff of grey smoke and a small pug appeared. It was wearing the same symbol that Hatake carried round and wore a blue jacket. Somehow, he didn't imagine the ninja as one to dress up their pets. Then it had spoken. Completely in Japanese, as he learned from Hermione later, as the fast-paced words and the complete foreignness had made it sound like gibberish to him. But Harry had heard nothing about when this shinobi had come from, so was it Japan? Did they have communities over there too and did they produce people like Hatake?

That was a freaky thought.

So after he had produced the dog somehow, he had left the kitchen to do whatever he does when not tailing Harry and the pug had sat down in his place. And stared right at him. It was unnerving. It was not the dead, empty look he always saw with the ninja. This was sharp, calculating, taking in every detail. It looked completely out of place in the eyes of an animal.

It was now a week later and he had seen no sign of the dog, though Hatake was being more careful around the twins. Over the space of time that the shinobi has joined the household, Harry had noted, that Ron and Hermione had noticed too, was that the shinobi was about as full of feelings and expression as a rock. No facial expressions, no body language, not even words. The only time he had spoken was in gibberish when the dog had appeared. He was like a drone, programmed to never fell or act human, as that might overload its systems But considering the type of culture he lived in, where 13-year olds were killers and it was not thought of as unusual, his demeanour might be completely understandable.

But enough about the stranger.

He had a trial tomorrow that decided his whole future.

He needed to sort out his priorities.


	5. Trapped

Kakashi blended into the wall behind him, carefully watching the activity in the kitchen.

The wizards had been up abnormally early today, due to the ‘trial’ that Potter was required to attend. It had been slightly strange for them not to waste the day lounging in their beds but he supposed that this would be a rare occasion. Potter had been especially restless this morning, even going so far as to wake up on his own. Though Kakashi still was not quite sure why they slept so much. Half five was hardly early enough to warrant surprise. That was standard if you wanted a decent day’s training.

He had not slept the previous night, not that he had needed to. A few hours every couple days would be sufficient, though due to ANBU he was trained for less. In some missions it was too risky to attempt. However, the previous night had been the most informative of the two weeks since he had started guarding the boy as he had managed to meet the client.

Dumbledore-sama had reminded him very much of Sandaime-sama, and though he did not seem combat-orientated. It was more that he emitted the same presence, a balance of a calm sensei and powerful veteran. He had not approached the shinobi, only spoken to a select few wizards and had left, but he looked over at him, right at him, with mere curious and observing eyes.

Neither anger nor contempt.

None.

It was almost surreal to meet the first non-hostile wizard since arriving in their society, though it did not mean that he had let down his guard. There must have been a reason the man reminded him of Sandaime-sama.

Potter had seemed irritated that Dumbledore-sama had not spoken to him while he was visiting, though why the young wizard thought he was entitled to the special attention of his leader puzzled him. That would be like a genin expecting Sandaime-sama to take notice of their individual training. Favouritism was not the path to a successful soldier.

As Harry sat down to play with the food he had been given by the matriarch, Kakashi made a mental note to stock up his supply of rations. Though the two weeks had not made much of a dent in the standard mission pack, he would rather be prepared. He had managed to avoid eating around the wizards, though his face still would have been hidden, and before the age jutsu incident they had not offered which had made it even easier.

Afterwards, they had started but the lack of response had successfully thrown them off and they had perfected pretending that he was not even present, though he could tell the fake-Byakugan user had his eye zeroed on to him whenever they were in the same vicinity.

Kakashi wondered if a chakra flash would have the same effect on him as it did the Hyūga. Not that it would be appropriate to find out, though it could be useful for future encounters.

The weathered looking man was also sat in the kitchen, beside Potter, but he kept glancing the shinobi’s way, as if wondering how to start.

“What are your plans for the trial? You cannot go as that would tip off anyone that Harry as protection but I have a feeling you are not going to stay behind,” he asked, his dark eyes peering into Kakashi, trying to read what he could see of the ninja’s face.

“The mission objective is to protect Potter-san. He will be accompanied to any destination he wishes to go,” Kakashi responded, speaking to them for the first time in two weeks.

“But won’t it be noticeable if someone like you were to pop into the ministry? You don’t exactly look like one of us,” the red-haired man pointed out, from where he stood near his wife at the stove.

Weasley, his name was. How he had put up with that loud one long enough to produce such a sizable clan was beyond Kakashi.

“I will not be recognised nor compromise the safety of Potter-san,” Kakashi answered, his monotone washing over the occupants of the kitchen.

“How?” the blonde blurted, a yawn escaping at the end of the question.

Kakashi looked at her.

She was not blonde yesterday. Her hair had changed to multiple colours during his time in the household but no one else had though it strange. It was not genjutsu so what else might produce that effect? She would be valuable for espionage missions.

“Classified.”

The wizards looked unsettled at the response, but it was not his problem. What did they expect? Potter looked as if he had not heard any of what had transpired, as he looked down at his breakfast as though it would poison him. Which, of course, it could not, as Kakashi had run through the standard checks for harmful substances before it had been served. Thoughts of the trial must be plaguing the boy, but had he not realised that there was more going on than illegal use of jutsu?

That in itself was suspicious but it could not be a coincidence that Harry had proclaimed the return of Voldemort and soon after his government was trying to prosecute him. He had seen it before; political figures attempting to silence each other to protect themselves. He was usually the one hired to ‘silence’ them.

The research he had done on the recent events in this culture was proving itself to be useful. Though how Potter expected to defeat this ‘powerful dark wizard’ when he could not see a simple political ploy, he could not grasp. There was much in this society he was having difficulty wrapping his head around but most of it seemed to be centered on these people’s flawed thinking process. He pushed aside his analysis on what he had gathered for the moment, as Weasley headed towards the door, Harry in tow.

Kakashi stood up and followed, and just before crossing the threshold disappeared from the sight of the people left. He located a secluded spot, still able to sense Potter and transformed into a plain middle aged man. As part of his training for jounin, Minato-sensei had drilled into him the importance of being able to silently perform the three basic techniques. It had saved him on many of the more covert missions he completed in ANBU.

He did not need the hand seals either, as not using them would not only protect the secrets of the jutsu but it would also be an advantage over an enemy. He joined the street in his _Henge_ and followed the two members of the Grimmauld household. He doubted they knew he was still there. Harry followed closely behind Mr Weasley through the nearly deserted streets, looking at the broken neighbourhood as they walked along.

* * *

It had been an awful morning, from the moment he had abruptly woken and the paintings teasing him, continuing to the breakfast that tasted like carpet, to now, as he followed Mr Weasley to the Ministry. 

The fact that Dumbledore had come to the house and had not asked to see him made him feel even worse, added to the fact that Sirius was confined to the house.

He had thought the kitchen would be empty at that time of morning but Sirius, Lupin, Tonks and Mr and Mrs Weasley has all been up waiting for him. He was only grateful he had not been required to talk, except to break the news to Mrs Weasley that his hair was untameable. Sirius and Lupin had tried to reassure him, but Harry didn’t think it worked.

He took a quick glance at his surroundings for a glimpse of silver and red but found nothing. He knew the shinobi would follow him, but he had no idea how the shinobi would blend into the London crowd, let alone the wizards at the Ministry. He wasn’t exactly the most covert looking assassin he could imagine, but despite his peculiar outfit and the shocking mess of silver hair, Harry couldn’t spot him.

During the days after the age line revelation, he had noticed the shinobi less and less. It was not that it was intentional; it was like when you bought a new watch when you don’t normally wear one. At first all you do is focus on it, but over time you barely remember it’s there, because it is there ALL the time. The shinobi had not left Harry’s side since the first evening they met him. He knew that Hatake was there, even if he could not find him most of the time, but now it was just something he accepted as part of his day.

To think that they had been so intimidated on the first day. The shinobi was now basically part of the furniture. It was slightly unsettling to think that of a murderer, but the novelty had mostly disappeared and it was scarily easy to forget that fact. Most of that reason is due to the fact that Hatake doesn’t DO anything. He doesn’t eat, sleep, nor drink; nothing that Harry could see. All he does is stand there, the times that he was visible. Watching him was like watching paint dry.

Mr Weasley walked up a shabby looking street, looking positively delighted to be there. The whole journey to the Ministry he had been unable to hide his enthusiasm about the Muggles, even going so far as to admire a broken ticket machine. He had been like a kid walking through a candy store and at the same time, almost completely hopeless. Mr Weasley pointed out an old, red telephone box which looked as though it had been beaten for its lunch money.

“Here we are,” he announced brightly, looking at it as if it was the most exciting thing he had seen so far today, which was really something considering his journey through candy land.

“After you, Harry,” Mr Weasley said, opening the door and gesturing inside.

After he squeezed in alongside Harry and reached for the receiver, Harry thought he should probably speak up.

“I think this might be out of order too,” Harry pointed out, unsure of what was going on beneath the mop of red hair.

“No, no, I’m sure it’s fine,” Mr Weasley replied, mumbling numbers under his breath as he dialed.

Harry watched as he finished dialing, and stared at him as the invisible lady spoke. After what appeared to be a screening to ensure they were who they claimed to be, a name tag popped out of where the returned coins usually came from. He attached it to his t-shirt as the telephone descended into the ground and the pavement rose. A dull grinding noise was all that could be heard and they plunged into complete darkness. It remained like this until they seemingly reached the bottom and a golden light flooded the box. Though he could have sworn that there had been an extra tiny groan within the grinding, as if more weight had been suddenly added, but with the way it was whining it was hard to tell.

Once he had stepped out of the box and his eyes had adjusted, Harry looked around. Long lines of fire places were on both sides of the overly wide corridor, and the witches and wizards popped out of the ones on the left with each flash of green light, while queues led to the ones on the right. A magnificent fountain complete with gold statues was further down the hall and the _cracks_ and _pops_ from apparating wizards blended with the sound of the tinkling water. However, the main feature of the ministry was the people. The mass of people that crowded the massive hall, all handling some form of paperwork or briefcase. Harry and Mr Weasley joined the throng of workers, trying not to bump into any of them. Mr Weasley led him to a desk on the left, which sat below a sign that read _Security_. He exchanged his wand for a slip of parchment on a brass spike, noting the security wizard dart his eyes towards his name badge and his scar.

Again joining the sea of people, Mr Weasley directed Harry to the lifts, chatting with a man with a fire-breathing chicken. Harry wasn’t even surprised; after the dragons last year, once you have seen one fire-breathing creature you’ve seen them all. At least this one wasn’t trying to eat him. He could feel the gazes of the others in the lift focus on him as he stared at his feet. The door opened for a few levels until it finally stopped at the second level, the chicken man getting off at the fourth one. Mr Weasley exited the lift and walked down the corridor.

“Mr Weasley, aren’t we still underground?” Harry asked, seeing the sun shine through the windows.

“Yes we are. Those are enchanted windows. Maintenance decides the weather we get every day. We had a couple months of hurricanes the last time they were hinting for a pay rise,” he explained, turning the corner.

After meeting Kingsley and being guided to Mr Weasley’s office, Harry settled himself in for the wait.

* * *

Kakashi had to give the wizards at least one thing; they were good at hiding themselves. If he hadn’t been following Weasley it would have taken him a quite a bit longer to locate the source of the wizard’s government.

His _Henge_ had blended perfectly with the crowds as they had walked through the stone city. There were no trees or colour. Just stone and glass. Iwa would have a field day with this place. There were also these strange multicoloured boxes on wheels that smelt horrible. Kakashi’s sensitive nose could barely handle just walking down the street. And people were so open and undefended. There was no look of suspicion or caution in their eyes, unlike back home, they just walked. As if they were safe from their enemies. At least the wizards at Grimmauld had a healthy sense of suspicion about other people.

It was odd, how easy it would be to assassinate someone here.

Potter was taken to a strange place underground with a long line of joined metal box. Why on Kami-sama’s earth they would put cramped steel boxes underground and herd people into them Kakashi would probably never understand. There were signs that could have told him what this place and that contraption was but he was not going to expose himself by walking up the wall to check with the necklace. It reminded him of some of the rumours from _Yuki no Kuni_ , but that place was so tied up with civil war that it was difficult to determine accurate intelligence. He was trained to remain calm in pressured situations, but this had tested his limits.

Potter had gotten into the one of the boxes so Kakashi had gone with him, and he had hated it. Surrounded by people, closed in by metal walls, it made him appreciate the forests of _Hi no Kuni_. He was constantly on edge as he could feel other people’s bodies pressed against him, leaving enough room for a slim blade to enter his ribs. His senses had never been sharper, though they were almost overwhelmed by the grossness of the box. He managed to look indifferent in his _Henge_ , as if he stood in this foul death box every day. It had appeared to be a form of transportation, though Kakashi would take running any day. He had got off the thing when the pair did, almost letting out a sigh of relief. Kakashi may have been one of the most highly trained members of Konoha, but even he was pushed when forced to enter a tiny box full of people that made strange sounds. The things he did for his village.

As the two had travelled the city to a quieter section, he deduced that even they might notice him so he left the street, passing through the shadows, exchanging his _Henge_ for a perception altering genjutsu. An underrated jutsu that made those that saw him unable to register his presence. Combine with his highly polished stealth methods, he was invisible. Even with Rin’s scarf.

Potter and Weasley had walked along the street, Kakashi blending in with the rundown buildings at the sides. As they headed for a battered red box, his confusion grew as they opened the door and went inside, despite the squeeze. What was it about this culture and small metal boxes? They were the worst environment possible for defence and offence and were totally impractical. As they fumbled around in the red box for a moment, giving Kakashi the chance to get closer, hesitating as he assessed for the purpose that Weasley had brought Potter here. Was he not to attend a ‘trial’ today?

Suddenly, the red box shuddered and started to sink into the earth. Kakashi’s eye widened slightly as he pushed some chakra into his legs and bounded towards the disappearing box. As he reached it he saw the hole in the ground and relaxed. He hopped lightly on top of the box, hearing the tiny groan from his added weight, even with chakra on the soles of his sandals. As the dark surrounded him, he again cast his _Henge_ , adapting it so the plain, brown-haired he had been before was now dressed in a dull grey suit. He kept the genjutsu up to be secure.

As the box descended, it landed on a marble floor in a hall with a high ceiling and fire places lining the wall. Kakashi leapt to the ground, after ensuring none were paying attention to him, and followed after Potter and Weasley. This place seemed far too insecure to be the wizards’ base of operations but he had to concede it was initially well hidden. As Potter and Weasley made their way through what looked to be security Kakashi followed, slipping past unnoticed. Were all wizards so arrogant to believe that their little sticks could protect them from everything? Even the supposed security only checked the stick; they did not check Potter for any hidden weapons.

The pair entered another box, this one grey. It was even more crammed with people than the long box from the underground they had travelled in. Kakashi swore when he returned to the village he would live outside in a little tree house with large windows and no door. Defending and securing it would make for excellent training.

As Kakashi squeezed in, keeping his sole eye on Potter, he felt the paranoia developed from years of defending his life creep in, as his mind ran through the various possibilities that they could be attacked. There were so many strangers that could take the perfect opportunity to take out Potter. He glanced quickly at the fire-breathing bird, but was not the weirdest thing he had ever seen. There were plenty of summons that were more surprising. Soon the only ones left on the steel box were Potter, Weasley and Kakashi, though they barely glanced at him due to the combination of his genjutsu and _Henge_. As they exited, Kakashi followed, remaining undetected.

No wonder they had hired a shinobi. If the enemy had done it first, they would all be dead.


	6. Enemy

Kakashi slowly jogged long stone corridor, following his charge. This part of the Ministry did not fit with the open chamber with the over-the-top fountain, or any of the corridors and offices he had catalogued so far. It was darker than the others, lit only by classic torches attached to the walls. It was almost similar to some of the places that he had infiltrated on previous missions, unlike the chakra-powered parts of the network. It seemed such a waste to use chakra for such menial purposes. The stone walls were cold and hard; the hurried steps from the pair in front bouncing off the firm surface, echoing within his sensitive ears. Though it was only the three of them travelling this corridor, they still failed to notice him. The combination of his genjutsu and _henge_ was made even more effective by the poor lighting.

Why would the trial be held here? From what he had observed they had passed multiple rooms which would be equally suitable for their purposes. They had also changed the time suddenly, hence why the two in front were moving briskly towards the allocated room. Well, briskly for them, if the heavy breathing and the faint scent of sweat he was picking was any indication.

This had politics written all over it, and their government seemed to be specifically targeting Potter. Was it due to his claims from this past spring? It had to be, as the intelligence he had gathered had not dug up anything else of note. He had survived his parents’ death when he was barely one and had been having trouble in their academy since he started at eleven. There had been a few incidents which had drawn the Ministry’s interest but it was only the recent one that seemed to have spurred them into action.

They seemed to have a crippling fear of this Voldemort figure, as Kakashi did not think the death of one student would bother them this much. Indeed, they were trying to pass it off as an accident, and the fact that Potter was speaking out against them, insisting it was murder, was most likely at the root of their persecution. Overall, they seemed to be in denial about the return of Voldemort, and were not taking Potter challenging them lightly.

This was turning out to be far more complicated than the mission brief had outlined. He was trained to adapt to various circumstances, but even Kakashi would have difficulty guarding Potter from politics, though he could stop the kunai entering his back.

The two stopped suddenly in front of a worn wooden door that was augmented with iron. They exchanged a few words as Weasley slumped against the wall, holding his torso in pain. Kakashi knew that he had not been injured beforehand, but could such a gentle jog really affect them this much? Kakashi quickly scanned the door as they spoke, scanning for a less obvious way in. No windows or weak points that he could exploit; that door was the only way in. The door was old and had almost certainly not been maintained correctly, meaning it would be too loud to open after Potter.

They had been informed that Potter would be attending a hearing, but Kakashi had carried out enough missions to question what was really beyond that door. There had been times where he was the one waiting behind the door, foregoing the trial and skipping to the execution.

So Potter could not go in alone.

A plan began to form at the forefront of Kakashi’s mind. Whoever was waiting on the other side, they would be completely focusing on Potter. There would be no reason for them to expect another to come through the door in Potter’s shadow. And while he still had issues recognizing their chakra and jutsu, despite Dumbledore-sama’s necklace making it so he could see them, they, in all probability, had never seen his kind before. So they would not be able to identify it. The genjutsu he had been using thus far and an adjustment of his _henge_ to _m_ _eisaigakure no jutsu_ and he would be invisible. Combined with ANBU level stealth skills, there would be no chance of them registering his presence. Even jounin-level shinobi would probably never find him.

This would work.

Potter opened the door before him, his conversation over as Weasley wheezed, attempting to regain his breathe. Kakashi crept forward, switching his to the _meisaigakure no jutsu_ while maintain his genjutsu. His steps were silent; it was as if there was no third man. Potter passed the threshold, Kakashi close behind. As the door shut behind them and Potter walked forward, Kakashi closely followed the wall making his way the group of purple cloaked wizards. All eyes remain on Potter as Kakashi quickly switched back to _henge_ , now matching the people around him. He silently praised the shinobi whom had created this genjutsu. He settled on the edge of the group, not even attracting a single glance. They were too bust murmuring about the boy in the centre.

Potter sat on a chair in the centre of the room, strange chains attached to the sides. There was a tiny _clink_ from them, as if they had been about to move. He stared at them, but they refused to move again. As one of the cloaked figures stood to speak and start the hearing, Kakashi enhanced his senses with chakra. The more he could observe and gather here, the more prepared he could be in the future it this nonsense started up again.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled beneath his illusion, alerting his long-honed instincts.

Someone was watching him.

This should not be happening with his genjutsu still operating so strongly.

Kakashi continued to gaze at the figure speaking, unwilling to signal to them that he had picked up on it. It must have been the moment he had switched back to _henge_ , as even with the tiny amount of chakra used, it appeared to be enough. He gradually expanded his awareness, straining to locate the source. Whoever this was, they were not a wizard.

No, there was another shinobi here.

* * *

If there were anything that Kakashi would take away from this mission, it would be the unyielding certainty that law and politics were worse than anything that ANBU could throw at him.

The main piece of intelligence he had picked from the proceedings so far was that their government was horribly and fatally flawed. He had gathered this in the first few minutes of discussion but he then had to suffer the rest of the drivel. All this conflict and dysfunction at the thought of one man; it was quite extraordinary. It could be compared to Minato-sensei’s effect on Iwa after the war. Though Voldemort had only killed maybe a few hundreds and Minato-sensei had wiped out a least a thousand of Iwa’s army, though it had been during a war. Voldemort sounded as if he killed selfishly.

In order to really deal with this situation, Kakashi had thought that the most powerful wizards would be in charge of the operation. It made sense to have the strongest at the top so they could use their experience to correctly handle and command those beneath them.

But no.

That was not the way it worked here.

A man called Fudge was in charge. He definitely looked old enough to have the experience necessary, but it was the wrong kind of experience. Fudge did not know what it was like to see the white of his enemy’s eyes, to feel the resistance as you felt the kunai break through the layers to the heart, to hear the empty pleas for mercy. He was a paper pusher, so having one of the most notorious killers in their history come back to cause even more havoc was not something he was prepared to deal with. This was probably why he was denying it so vehemently. He did not have the sense of a leader about him either. The feeling of power, of strength; that no one could stand against them and win; the feeling that welled within at the sight of them in action; wanting to follow them to the ends of the earth; to be able to walk beside them.

It was so rare for people like them to appear. Minato-sensei could invoke those feelings. Kakashi would have followed him into the jaws of the Shinigami himself if he had asked. But he was gone. If anyone, Kakashi would have thought Dumbledore-sama to be the man in control. Instead, he was running their academy. Kakashi could only wonder how this system had lasted so long.

Dumbledore-sama had appeared just before the proceedings had truly started. From his explanation and Fudge’s reaction, they had tried to prevent his presence at the trial. The only reason they would do that is so they would have no interference. His deduction earlier had been right. This was no trial for illegal use of jutsu; this was an attack on the creditability of Potter. The incident just gave them the perfect excuse.

He could understand why the ministry was eager to prevent Dumbledore-sama from attending. Even his mere presence had shifted the mood of the room. The trial had commenced and they had gone over the evening in question.

Repeatedly.

There were some unfamiliar words bounced around such as ‘Dementors’ and ‘Patronus’ that he would have to research when the appropriate resources became available. It was mainly newspapers and other similar materials he had managed to procure that had provided the majority of his information regarding recent events. This academy of theirs would be perfect for such use. He would have to find a way to segregate some time devoted to that while guarding Potter, as he did not seem the type to spend much time in the library.

But while some of the terms used were unknown, body language was universal. He followed much of the debate by watching how they moved, while assessing for any threats. Fudge, for example, was tense and rigid, showing he was uncomfortable and indignant with the way things were proceeding. His shoulders were slightly higher than usual, marking his anger. His face was obvious, as the red shade gave away almost all this thoughts.

Fudge was not happy.

He almost went over the edge when Dumbledore-sama had presented the witness, and his case had properly begun to fall apart. He was losing his propaganda.

The ‘squib’ – they had called her – was not the most convincing of witnesses but Dumbledore-sama must have been limited with his options. The description of the incident she gave was more unique than Kakashi had ever heard before. The happiness disappeared. The feeling sounded familiar, as memories of the Kyūbi attack danced around the edge of his conscious. Minato-sensei had been the last one to leave him; the last light to go out in the darkness that had grown with every death.

This darkness had made him perfect for the ANBU corps; the missions assigned tore down any moral high ground left over from their genin days, the illusion that they would not have to kill anyone. With each rank they rose through, and the higher-ranked missions they took, the fact that the tree they practiced their accuracy on would one day be another human became more real. His generation was different to ones that would develop in the future, as they had no choice but to grow up with that reality since they were all both born and raised in wartime.

Kakashi had been unique even within his age group. Graduating as a genin at age 5, he had been a part of the battle field for just over seven years, and it felt like he had never left. There had been no time for him to dull between the end of the war and signing up for ANBU, where he could put his skills to good use. For times such as now.

Even as Kakashi analysed the hearing itself and the wider implications, as well as comparing it to his own culture, he had been slowly pinpointing the position of the other shinobi. He could feel those eyes on him now, but it had developed an alternating pattern over the course of the hearing, as if they were dividing their attention. Kakashi darted his eyes in a circuit of the room, narrowing his search to the group of wizards to the right of Fudge. They were completely suppressing their chakra, so could not be using a _henge_ or genjutsu like him, so he could not sense them. It made it more arduous to locate him, but worth it when Kakashi eventually found him. He would be able to accurately identify him but would not be able to do the same with Kakashi.

The volume in the chamber decreased as Dumbledore-sama stepped closer to the line of treason, pushing at Fudge about the Dementors. They were apparently in the control of the Ministry, but Kakashi doubted that Fudge had the nerve to devise such a blatant plan; it was too confronting for a man like him.

A shill voice rang through the room, almost causing Kakashi to wince in pain at the pitch. He looked at the pink blob next to Fudge as she tried to coyly turn the tables on Dumbledore-sama. His hand unconsciously twitched towards his kunai pouch. She reminded him of one of Minato-sensei’s toads, but unlike them, she made his skin crawl. He could not determine exactly what it was, but something did not add up with her.

Something about her put him on edge.

She faded into the background as Fudge and Dumbledore-sama started up again, but he kept his eye on her for a few moments longer. He did not feel the shinobi looking at him again, as if he was doing the same.

The hearing wound down, with Dumbledore-sama cutting Fudge off at every attempt to convict Potter. At the vote, he raised his hand in favour of sending Potter back to Hogwarts.

The pink toad did not.

Dumbledore-sama dismissed the court, sweeping out the door without a glance behind him. Potter had a look caught between elation and confusion as he too rose and headed for the door. The rest of the purple cloaked figures followed suit.

Kakashi felt the same presence rest on him one more time, before it disappeared. He focused his chakra to hone in on the foreign presence, finally catching a glimpse of a cloaked figure far too elegant to blend in with the crowd. He rapidly created a _kage bunshin_ and sent it after Potter, ensuring that it kept up the genjutsu. The original followed the other shinobi, weaving between the wizards.

The shinobi strode away from the crowds, sharply turning corner to lose his tail. Kakashi swiftly followed gaining ground with every corner. He was at only a quarter of his reserves now, with the genjutsu, _henge_ and _kage bunshin_ taking up most of his reserves. He had to do this quickly. The cloaked shinobi sharply turned the corner, leaving Kakashi’s sight for barely a few seconds. Kakashi bounded forward, cursing when he found only a purple cloak surround by dust. He sealed the cloak into a scroll for later investigation and turned back the way he had come. That had been the remains of a _doton bunshin_. The shinobi must have had it on standby and switched with it the first chance he had, masking his escape.

This was no rookie.

Kakashi continued his way back down the stone corridor. It could have been used by any shinobi from any village. He himself and learned and copied numerous _doton_ jutsu over the years. One thought still plagued him, even as he caught up to Potter and Weasley, dismissing his _kage bunshin_.

The most common shinobi who used _doton_ jutsu were from Iwa. 


	7. Wreck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Bold' = Japanese

It had been a few days since the trial and Harry was still turning over the events in his head. He felt hurt that Dumbledore had basically ignored him, despite standing as his witness.

Once they had been dismissed, Mr. Weasley had appeared to guide Harry back to Grimmauld Place when he had seen his son Percy. Harry knew that things had been strained between the family; but when Percy completely blanked them, he knew it was not going to get any better.

They then had the pleasure of running into Malfoy Senior.

Harry had told Fudge about the night in the cemetery, about Lucius’ true loyalties. Yet he was there in the Ministry, walking free as though nothing had changed. But since they were denying the true events of that night, he shouldn’t have been surprised Lucius had managed to slither his way back in. Though the snake reference he had jabbed at Harry was hardly subtle. The gloating expression that sometimes surfaced onto his features and the smug air about him were also proof he had not forgotten that night anymore than Harry had. The encounter had left a horrible taste in his mouth and had stayed with him during the entire return journey.

They had eventually made it home to be greeted by the celebrating members of the household, once they had heard the verdict. Harry had gotten caught up in the whirlwind and he swore he could still hear the twins’ chant of ‘he got off’ still ringing in his ears. Things then settled down as Mrs. Weasley had the younger members of the household continue to clean the house. Dust was in every nook and cranny in the place and Harry could have sworn he had put some muscle on his skinny frame just from everything he had had to move around.

The days spent cleaning however were dominated by mixed emotions, as if the aftermath from the hearing wasn’t enough.

He had seen less and less of Sirius as the days went on as the man seemed to spend most of his time hiding away with Buckbeak. The times he had managed to see and speak to his godfather, Sirius was quiet; as though he was retreating into his misery. It was as if his godfather was unhappy he was going back. When he had discussed it with Ron and Hermione, Hermione was all for this theory. She figured that Sirius wanted Harry to stay and if Harry had been expelled, they could have been outcasts together. Ron had the same viewpoint as Harry as they defended the former convict.

Harry wanted to spend far more time with his godfather, but he couldn’t suppress the feeling of anticipation for the day he finally left for Hogwarts. While he was cleaning, he had developed a habit of daydreaming about when he did get back. Quidditch, the common room, even just walking from class to class. He felt restricted and closed in by Grimmauld Place, though it did serve its purpose. To be in the open air of the Hogwarts grounds, and to walk through the high, open hallways was something Harry very much couldn’t wait to return to. He loved Sirius and didn’t want to leave him so soon, but at the same time, he couldn’t wait to get away.

Life in the headquarters of the main force opposing Voldemort was not as exciting as he thought it would be. They never told him anything and nothing of note really happened. When the Order had been first mentioned to him, he had thought that it would be more dangerous and thrilling. They were against Voldemort himself. Now that He had returned the risks would have heightened. But the Order seemed to be doing nothing more than playing a game of Chinese whispers.

One other thing that had been occupying Harry’s thoughts was the shinobi.

If he had been difficult to locate before the hearing, it was impossible to find him after. The only times he had caught a glimpse of the ninja had been at mealtimes, when he stood sentry at the edge of the room. He changed position daily, as if he could not use the same place twice. During the rest of the day and at night, there was no trace of him. It was like something had happened to put him on alert. His overall behaviour and actions had not changed though. Much like the disappointment of the lack of excitement in the Order, he had thought that a man trained from his teenage years to kill would be far more interesting.

But no.

He just stood there; silent and with a frame of granite. Harry was pretty sure the shinobi hadn’t left his side since he had arrived, but he had no proof. He couldn’t have gone to the Ministry though; there was no way a Muggle would’ve been able to get past the security. It would be interesting to see how this mute, stern killer would adapt to the populace of Hogwarts. He had been assigned to act as a student but Harry just couldn’t see him in the robes sitting through potions with Snape; or in Divination with Trelawney. He was never going to pass as a student. It would be slightly reassuring though to see him out of his comfort zone. Just as a reminder that he was human, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Though the shinobi himself was as interesting as paint drying, the list of questions that Harry, Ron and Hermione had about his past was only growing. Hermione had suggested researching in the library when they reached Hogwarts while Ron was all for seeing how he acted around Hogwarts itself. Either way, it was not until they returned to the magical school that they would be able to start getting answers to their questions. Like where was he from? What kind of family would purposely raise a murderer? Why did he wear a mask? What was the deal with the red scarf? The shinobi was an enigma sealed in a puzzle box, but that had never stopped them before.

With all these thoughts swirling round in Harry’s mind, the day passed quickly and the final day in Grimmauld Place before they left for Hogwarts arrived.

Harry, Ron and the twins had been discussing the trouble the school had been having finding a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher; a topic which had arisen when they had received their book list for the year. Ron had also gotten a letter with his list announcing that he was one of the new Gryffindor prefects. Honestly, Harry had completely forgotten all about it with the hearing and everything, but with that reminder, something slammed into his gut. 

He didn’t want to think he was better than Ron and he really wanted to be happy for his best friend. But his traitorous mind kept him thinking about the fact he didn’t get one. He had expected one; took it for granted that he was guaranteed one because of who he was and what he had done. Though, now he thought about it, he had never really done anything by himself. The first, second and third year he always had both Ron and Hermione by his side, always helping him. In third year he also had had Lupin. The fourth year, the only year that he had faced Voldemort truly alone, he failed. Voldemort returned and Cedric was killed. Still, he had done far more than Ron.

Hermione had then burst in, asking Harry about his non-existent prefect badge. He seemed surprised that Ron had got it instead of him and he could see Ron’s face cloud over. Pair with the disbelief of the twins, Ron must have felt pretty offended. Harry plastered a happy grin on his face as he congratulated his friend, while inside he hid the turmoil and resentment that was building up. The only comfort he had was that his father had not been made a prefect either.

Dumbledore had been ignoring him since the events at the final of the Triwizard Cup, so should it really have been that much of a surprise when Ron was given the prefect badge instead of him? His scar pulsed, sending sharp pain through his skull.

Mrs. Weasley had then caught wind of the events and it was all downhill from there. While she was gushing over Ron, Harry looked at the twins, feeling sympathy. They had just been brushed aside and forgotten about when Mrs. Weasley had started talking about the family achievements. She had then gone about arranging a party to celebrate. Somehow during this time, Harry and Ron’s belongings had found themselves scattered through the entire house. Harry could have sworn he could hear the ‘ _cracks_ ’ of apparitions throughout the retrieval of his things.

When the party had gotten into full swing later that day, harry had been shown a photo taken of the old Order. He could see the face of Neville in Alice’s face and the encounter from days before appeared in his mind. He had never really thought why Neville had had to live with his gran before. He then spotted his parents faces next to Wormtail and it had slightly overwhelmed him. He had left, climbing the stairs to the first floor landing. A strangled sob drew him towards the drawing room. He poked his head in, and at the sight before him, the rest of his body followed. He watched the dead bodies of the Weasley family appear one after the other in front of the distraught Mrs Weasley. He started to raise his wand, walking forwards.

A black, sliver and red blurred passed him, stopping in front of Mrs Weasley, unleashing two strange objects which just passed through the boggart.

The shape of the boggart changed.

* * *

It had been a tense few days for Kakashi since the trial.

Now there was not only the threat of wizards endangering Potter but solid evidence that there was another shinobi, he had taken extra precautions. There was no way to confirm if the other shinobi was hostile or not, but there was no way Kakashi was going to take that chance. There were no such things as coincidences and the fact that another shinobi was attending Potter’s trial was no accident.

As a result, Kakashi started staying out of sight more, as usually when on a bodyguard mission; they stayed in the sight of the client as a visible safety net to assure them. This did not apply here, since they did not require visible assurance.

Why did it have to be Iwa? Of all the allied villages, it had to be one that hated his guts for not only his actions in the war but because he had been a student of the Yellow Flash. There had been no further evidence to prove it was indeed Iwa, but also none to disprove it. They knew he was there but not his identity or village, so it was an even battleground so far.

From the memories of the _kage bunshin_ he had sent to watch over Potter while he had investigated the other shinobi, only a couple of encounters of true value had happened on their way back. They had come across a pale, blond man who was a potential danger to Potter. He had apparently been there at the murder of Diggory but had bought his way back into the graces of the Ministry. He was one to be monitored around Potter, as he could sense the mutual hatred between them. After that, the only other thing of note was when Potter ran into one of his academy classmates. Longbottom, he was called, which was rather a ridiculous name. Though there had been others that were just as strange.

Potter had found out about the fate of Longbottom’s parents. Kakashi had not been overly impressed by the wizards thus far, but he had gained a healthy respect for the Longbottom family. They might have made good shinobi.

Potter had then returned to Grimmauld place and settled into a routine of cleaning under the command of the loud Weasley. Though she was about as subtle as an explosive tag, she knew how to handle the group of teenagers. Though Kakashi could see that Potter was becoming restless, his features a constant mix of emotions. The trio had been becoming more curious about his origins too, and discussed researching the library in their academy for any information.

Kakashi made a mental note to search and destroy any information leading back to the Elemental Countries as soon as he had the chance.

Supplies for the academy arrived on the day before they were due to leave and Kakashi’s had been left on his bed in the attic. He had had to go through the books to use the necklace to transcribe them into kanji. Some of the titles made absolutely no sense. _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5; Defensive Magical Theory._ He would have to study these before his arrival so he could figure out how to replicate these with his chakra. There were also what appeared to be uniforms laid out for him with the colours black, red and gold. As he held them up to get a better analysis, he idly wondered how much of his shinobi uniform he could wear instead of this.

It was completely and utterly impractical.

Other than the plentiful places he could conceal his weaponry, it was cumbersome and suffocating. It would _swish_ around his legs, tangling in them. He had been trained to adapt to different environments but using this as a disguise, while effective, may hinder him. He was an exchange student. If he was going to truly blend in as one he would have to alter the true Hogwarts uniform, so others could tell that he was not native.

Finally, the supplies were strange but he could imagine how they would be useful. He picked up a twig that had been left on top of the robes. He saw the note attached and translated it. After reading it, he scrutinised the twig more closely. This would be the ‘wand’ he would be ‘using’. He figured it worked something similar to Asuma’s trench knives when he channeled wind chakra into them. Perhaps the wizards channeled their chakra through this to produce jutsu. So their twigs would act as a medium between them and their chakra.

The rest of the academy students received much of the same, though they already had the supplies and uniforms from their previous years. Potter’s two friends though had received something called a ‘prefect’s badge’. From their discussion, he theorised it was some sort of rank or position of authority, similar to a chunin.

He had spotted Harry’s large grin at his friend, but he could not hide the resentment and disappointment nearly as well as he thought he could. It appeared the boy had thought he had been guaranteed one, though Kakashi couldn’t figure out why. He had almost been expelled barely two weeks before and was involved with the death of a fellow classmate. There was no way that Dumbledore-sama would compromise the integrity of the rank over favouritism. Potter seemed to think he was special. 

While the loud Weasley woman was overreacting, the twins proceeded to hide Potter and Weasley’s property through the household. They used a type of _shunshin_ to travel the house, though it would be impractical due to the loud _crack_ that signalled they had used it.

Things had eventually settled down and the celebration had commenced. Kakashi stayed close to the wall, in one of the shadowed corners. He had never been one for parties. Even Minato-sensei had struggled to force him into anything remotely resembling one.

He spotted Potter ascending the staircase, clutching a piece of paper. He activated a silent _shunshin_ and appeared on the first floor. He summoned his nin dogs, instructing them to keep up the security, as the loud noises and commotion could cover up any attempted attack.

A strangled sob reached his ears at the same time that Potter rushed over to one of the doorways. He entered the room with Kakashi in his shadow. At the sight before them, Kakashi shot in, putting himself between the two wizards and the dying fake Weasley. He knew that the client would not be pleased if he were to kill any of Potter’s close friends, but as the thing switched from Weasley to Weasley, all of whom he knew were healthy downstairs, he rationalised that this must be an intruder. Though how it had managed to slip past him was for another time.

He unleashed two kunai almost immediately and his single uncovered eye widened slightly as they passed straight through.

Then the shape changed.

Kakashi took an involuntary step back as a half crushed Obito stared back. His left side was nothing but mangled bone, skin and blood and the empty eye socket seemed latched onto him. Then it spoke.

“ **It was all your fault. You failed me and you failed her. You are worse than trash.** ”

Kakashi could feel his Sharingan ache.

It switched to Rin, looking identical to how he remembered her after the _Chidori_ has pierced her chest. Tears were flowing down her purple-striped cheeks and the hole in her chest was charred and bloody, a result of the lightening. Kakashi could feel the scarf around his neck tighten as if it would suffocate him.

“ **You promised. You failed me. You killed me. You murdered me.** ”

Kakashi could feel the blood covering his hand, her blood, from when had struck his hand straight through her.

A choked sob rose from Kakashi’s throat as he stood frozen, assaulted by his worst nightmares. It switched to his father, the day he had come to find him dead on the floor when he was six years old. Blood was in a puddle beneath his body.

“ **You were not worth living for.** ”

Kakashi’s hands started to shake and tears dropped from Obito’s eye, soaking his hitai-ate. What was happening? This was so much more real than his usual nightmares.

It finally switched to Minato-sensei, when he had found him after the Kyūbi attack. He had no torso left as there was only a huge gaping hole, and his once bright yellow hair had been dyed red, though whether it was his or Kushina-nee’s he didn’t know.

Kakashi could feel his knees starting to fail him as he struggled to breathe. He couldn’t kill it, them, again.

Suddenly he heard the word ‘ _riddikulus_ ’ and Minato-sensei changed into a yellow teddy and it was as if a spell had been broken over Kakashi.

In reality, it had only been about 10 seconds but to the silver-haired shinobi, it had felt like eternity. He quickly _shunshined_ catching a brief glimpse of Potter hunched over, spilling his stomach. He reappeared in the attic and barely made it to the wash basin. He took off his hitai-ate and gloves, staring at his hand. He could still feel the blood on his hands, Rin’s heart beating its last against his hand. He could still feel the transplanting of his eye.

He looked up into the mirror and saw his other eye had joined Obito’s in its sorrow. He started scrubbing his hands, trying to get rid of the blood he logically knew wasn’t there. No matter how much he washed his hand since he had killed Rin, he could always feel it.

He always saw their faces in his dreams, his nightmares, and they repeated the same words as that _thing_.

He collapsed to the ground, his knees finally giving way. His skin felt clammy, the normally pale skin turning ashen. He was sweating uncontrollably and felt his breath escaping his lungs.

He had never thought this would happen. That he would just be slammed with the mistakes of his past. Even now he could hear the faint voices reminding him of his mistakes.

He curled into the fetal position, his hand still wet with water. His hands were clasped over his ears and his eyes were tightly shut.

He was trapped in a living nightmare.


	8. Student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Bold' = Japanese

Harry looked across the booth to the shinobi, trying to see any effect from last night. He could still feel his own stomach churning at the thought of the boggart.

Those people.

He hadn’t understood them as they had been speaking in a different language, but the shinobi had. Now he thought about it, it had been the first time he had heard a boggart speak. It had hardly been the first time he had seen one; he had seen numerous in Professor Lupin’s class two years ago. He had faced his own numerous times and had successfully driven it away.

But the shinobi’s… he had never felt like that. Cedric’s death had probably been the closest thing that had affected him this much even though he had known the boggart was only playing on fear. But he couldn’t get the thought out of his head that it could happen, might have already happened. Compared to those people, Cedric’s death had been _clean_. That disgusted him as much as the actual images had.

It made the shinobi seem more human.

So far, in the whole month they had spent in each other’s company, the shinobi had been a stone wall; a rock in the shape of a man. He barely spoke, and when he did it was clipped and rude. He could disappear and stalk and threaten with not even a whisper. Yet his worst nightmare was the images of dying people. He was paid to end lives, but the death of people was his greatest fear. It didn’t make sense.

It had taken a while for Harry to calm down, even with Sirius talking him down. He could only imagine how Mrs. Weasley had taken it. She had barely glanced at the shinobi since, but when she did; there was this kind of look in her eye.

One part pity and three parts horrified.

Ron and Hermione had formed their own theories; Ron figured it was his previous victims coming back to haunt him while Hermione was unwilling to assume anything without doing further research.

The shinobi had reappeared the next morning, all packed and dressed in what he probably thought was normal clothing since now he had to act more like a student. All the bandages had disappeared so there were just baggy cargo pants overhanging black sandals. He wore a plain black shirt and had fingerless gloves without the metal plate. Thrown over this was a grey, hooded jumper and his black duffle bag was thrown over one shoulder. He had kept the mask, and replaced the cloth with the metal plate with just a black strip of cloth which both covered his eye and kept back the mop of silver hair. His red scarf was in its place around his neck.

Did he have any other clothes? It seemed as though he had just taken off the bandages and metal and that was it. He was going to stand out at Hogwarts, and that was saying something considering the eccentricity of some of the staff. Though, he was posing as a foreign student so maybe the weird clothes were a part of that. Apart from the clothing, nothing seemed to have changed; as if last night had not bothered him in the slightest; but Harry could have sworn the shinobi’s hands were moving more than usual as they fiddled with the duffle and his sleeve.

He had followed them all the way to the station and onto the train, and had sat in the furthest corner in the booth, remaining silent the entire way. He had settled his luggage in the overhang, the small duffle bag tiny compared to the hoards of bags the other students had taken.

Ron and Hermione had gone to the prefects’ carriage, leaving Harry and Ginny with Neville and a strange blonde girl called Luna. Though the incident last night did not seem to have changed much, there was a feeling of tenseness coming from the silver-headed man. Harry jolted in his seat when he heard the shinobi speak up in reply to something Neville had said. He exchanged a look with Ginny, the only other who understood his surprise.

“I am Kakashi Hatake, as you would say. I am a transfer student who will be attending your academy for the year,” the shinobi answered, his lone grey eye trained on the Gryffindor.

Not much of his features could be seen, but Harry could have sworn that the shinobi was completely different than he had acted in Grimmauld Place. He could see him actually passing for an aloof, foreign student rather than a silent, surly killer.

“Academy? Is that what you call it,” Neville asked, oblivious to the shock Harry was experiencing.

“Yes, Longbottom-san,” the ninja replied.

“Just call me Neville. Longbottom is so, well, long. Do you call each other by your last names in… where was it?” the chubby boy asked, cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment.

“Japan, Longbottom-san. It is considered polite to call people by their last name,” the shinobi continued.

The two exchanged a few more words before settling down for the train ride. Harry could not keep his gaze from the ninja. Where was the horrible bodyguard from the last month? The man capable of murder and sneaking around without a sound? He caught a glimpse of the man’s lone eye as it rested on him for but a second. There was steel hidden in the grey, as if the shinobi was warning him to keep his mouth shut.

Ah, there he was.

* * *

Kakashi had not slept at all the previous night and had remained where he had fallen, curled up to try and make himself as small as possible, as if that could offer a better defense against his mind. Foolish, but the appearance of that _thing_ , his fears made flesh, had robbed of any rationality he had. He could only thank his long-honed instincts that he had _shunshined_ out of sight of the wizards.

The water had long since dried from his hands, the sensation of blood lessened slightly by the light of the rising sun. Somehow, it seemed like there was less to fear in the light of day, but the images remained fresh in his mind.

He stood, his hands shaking uncontrollably and his knees weak. He leant over the sink behind him, pulling down his mask and washing away the dries tears of the night before. He gripped the sides of the sink as the images resurfaced for a moment, inducing his gag reflex. There was nothing to throw up and he rewashed his face, wiping away the fresh tears. He scrubbed his hands raw, as if trying to wash away the effects of last night. He stood and stumbled over to the bed, sinking into the old mattress. He kept breathing through his mouth, going through the usual routine that he used after he wakes up. He loosened Rin’s scarf from around his neck, which had been squeezing shut his throat.

They had been right in front of him. If he had reached out, he would have felt the blood, felt the final heartbeats. He had smelt the scent of their decaying bodies and heard the sounds of their bodies shutting down. The same as the days they had happened. His dreams had not been that vivid since they had first happened.

He heard the shuffle of small paws and looked up to see Pakkun entering the room. He didn’t bother pulling up his mask. The small pug looked his friend up and down, sitting down in front of him.

“ **What happened? This is worse than the aftermath of your usual nightmare,** ” Pakkun asked, peering up at the still clammy face of his master.

Kakashi sighed and gave a brief overview, skipping the descriptions. He looked up to see the pug with an unreadable expression.

“ **That sort of explains why the boy was puking into the night. I wasn’t aware the boy had such a weak stomach,** ” Pakkun said. “ **It was a good thing you summoned us before dealing with whatever that thing was. We covered the house for you.** ”

Kakashi sat up and started stripping, grabbing his casual clothes out of the duffle. He replaced his mask and pulled it back up, his face safely hidden from the world once more. Pakkun made a good point. While he had been here over-reacting to his nightmares made flesh, the house had been vulnerable. He had been vulnerable. That was unforgivable in the middle of a long-term mission. Episodes like this could give him away at their academy.

“ **Thank you Pakkun and make sure to thank the others for me when you see them. I will summon you to treat you soon,** ” Kakashi said.

Pakkun nodded once and prepared to travel back to his home, but before he did he spoke up.

“ **It caught you by surprise. I think even an ANBU is entitled to react badly when confronted by their worst fears.** ”

Kakashi darted his gaze to the pug but all he saw was a small cloud of smoke that was quickly disappearing. Kakashi lurched fully to his feet, steadier than he had been before Pakkun had come in. He had a mission to complete, a job to do. Just focus on that. As he bustled about the room, grabbing what he needed to pack, he set his mind to his cover as a student. He had taken all the bandages and metal off, which was about as casual as it got in Konoha. He shrugged on a baggy grey jumper he had found in his bag and slung the duffle over his shoulder, fixing Rin’s scarf as he stalked towards the door.

As he reached for the door handle, he saw his hand was still shaking slightly. He could still feel the churning of his stomach, the tear stains on his cheeks, the blood running over his fingers. But he had a job to do. Just shove it away for later and continue the mission.

He left the room and descended the stairs to the kitchen where the wizards were gathering with their luggage. They turned to look at him and he caught the eye of the loud red-haired women; and hated what he saw there. Horror and pity were dominant in her gaze, as if she thought he was the one responsible for that fate of his precious people. But there was also a hesitant question in her eyes, as if she thought maybe he was not as bad as she had previously judged. If he recalled, that _thing_ kept changing into corpses of her family.

The difference being that hers were only fears and his were reality. Her contradicting gaze annoyed Kakashi for some reason, as if he was to blame for her confusion. His stomach dropped and a void filled his heart. If he reasoned it out, it was his fault they had all died and left him alone. But he didn’t need a snobby, loud foreigner to remind him. He fingered the kunai up his sleeve as he readjusted his grip on his duffle, making sure his weapons were in easy reach. He looked over at the Potter boy and saw the questions in his eyes.

Kakashi looked away as some boxes-on-wheels pulled up in front of the house. They were like the ones he had seen while guarding Potter on the way to the Ministry, but the three here were identical.

Kakashi had then realized that they were going to _get into_ these boxes…all of them. He checked them over for any dangers before Potter reached them, though if he were honest he did not know what he was looking for.

After they squeezed themselves and their baggage into the deathtraps, they were taken to a place again similar to one of the places Kakashi had travelled through with Potter. It was the place of the long boxes that somehow travelled on only two strips of metal. He didn’t have time to have a proper look before the family paused in front of a brick wall.

Kakashi hung back as he stared, the children running through the wall one after another. A genjutsu to keep the non-magical people out. Simple but clever, as he imagined that there was a mechanism to it that stopped the non-magical falling through it accidentally. Finally it was his turn. He jogged lightly towards the wall, stamping out the urge to flinch as he came up to the wall. He closed his eyes briefly as he felt himself moving forward. He reopened them quickly, and was met by a wall of steam.

Once it had cleared, he saw a great metal black and red beast with long boxes like he had seen earlier attached in a line behind it. He saw students getting into it and he caught up to Potter unwilling to lose him. He went into one of the boxes, and looked for an empty smaller one to sit in. What fascination these people had for travelling in boxes, he would never fathom. All he could do was bear it until they reached the academy, where hopefully they would be able to travel by foot. Even if it was at civilian speed. They found a box with only a young blonde girl, and they sat, Potter’s two friends leaving to attend their duties. Somewhere along the way they had picked another one of Potter’s friends, Longbottom-san, who he had seen at the Ministry, and the youngest Weasley.

The Longbottom kid was full of questions about him and Kakashi obliged, only giving the minimum answers. It would appear out of place if he were to completely ignore him. He felt Potter’s eyes on him and he glared at the boy, threatening him to keep his mouth shut. He was undercover, and that involved not being questioned why he was acting differently. That was the point; there was only so much he could get away with the ‘new foreign student’ persona.

Longbottom-san settled down and the three children spoke cordially between themselves, happy to ignore the foreigner who would have no idea what they were speaking of anyway. It suited Kakashi just fine. The blonde girl was a bit strange, but when he had Gai always challenging him in all his green-spandexed glory he was pretty sure not much could surprise him. When he saw Longbottom-san hand over a toad – nothing like Minato-sensei’s – and bring out a strange looking plant, he decided that he could never have too much information.

“Will that cause any damage to us?” Kakashi asked, eyeing the boil-covered plant.

“Nope, it’s completely safe,” Longbottom announced.

Kakashi looked at the plant dubiously and began to gradually emit chakra from his _tenketsu_ ; just enough to cover himself and his clothing. He made sure that none of the occupants could sense him doing so and confirmed with his wider range sensing that no one else could in vicinity either. His instincts were not relaying danger to him, as Neville brought up the quill to poke the plant. No, they were relaying ‘take cover’. In the tiny space that was not an option, but he could still create some sort of a shield to whatever was going to happen.

Longbottom poked it and thick, stinking pus spurted out of it, the rancid smell stabbing Kakashi’s sensitive nose. The chakra he had kept hovering over his clothes had taken the brunt of it, and he dropped the shield, remaining completely clean. The other three wiped it out of their eyes and looked over at him, noticing he had managed to escape the putrid explosion. Neville wiped some more of it off his face and a confused look descended over his round features.

“How did you avoid it?”

Kakashi almost smirked as he considered his answer.

“Magic.”

* * *

The rest of the train journey passed quickly with Potter’s two friends turning up later.

Kakashi mostly ignore their conversations, gazing out the window as he stretched out his senses, scanning for threats. There did not seem to be anything and all of the passengers had a strange chakra signature that he could not quite place. He supposed it was their ‘magic’. He felt a touch of amusement as he remembered their faces earlier.

There had also been a moment when some green-clothed students had come in to bother the children. He had sensed them coming but they hardly registered as a threat. The two groups had shouted at each other and exchanged insults, but beyond that there was nothing worthy of note. He and Obito used to do the same all the time. An image of that _thing_ last night flashed through his mind, and he grimaced, tightening his fists. His mask and gloves hid the effects from the others but he pushed away the thoughts.

He had enough guilt to deal with when he was sleeping; he did not need it when he was awake and on-duty.

When they had almost reached their academy, the students had changed into their uniforms. Kakashi kept his sandals and trousers, as they were black anyway and also kept on his mask and eye patch. He took off his grey jumper and replaced it with a white buttoned-up shirt with a red and gold tie. A black v-neck jumper went over his shirt, and to complete the uniform he shrugged on the black, red and gold coat. He had altered it at Grimmauld so it now reached above his knees instead of below, meaning it would not hinder his movement as much. Even as he put it on, it reminded him of Minato-sensei and his long white and red coat. His heart clenched. He replaced Rin’s scarf around his neck, feeling slightly sick as it weighed on him.

The box came to a stop at a concrete block and the children stepped out of the box, leaving behind all their bags. Kakashi looked at them strangely as he grabbed his duffle; no way in Iwa was he going to leave it behind. He stuck close to Potter, as it appeared the boy was looking for someone. As they came to the carriages, the boy looked at them shocked and Kakashi followed his gaze and was not quite sure about what he saw.

It looked as though Orochimaru had decided fusing a horse and a lizard, then starving it until it resembled a skeleton was a good idea. Logically, he knew the Snake had nothing to do with it but they were so strange and no one else was disturbing enough to consider the idea.

Apparently they were new to Potter too as he stared at them bewildered. He turned to his friends asking about them, but they had no idea what he was talking about. Kakashi knew that the only reason he could see them was due to the necklace Dumbledore-sama had given him, but the other two were wizards. The only one who seemed to know what Potter was talking about was Lovegood, but she did not seem to be the most reliable source for information. But Kakashi knew better than to turn away a potential source of intelligence because of their quirks.

Konoha’s information network was based on _Jiraiya_.

Though he would rather run to the castle he could finally see, it would look strange compared to the other students so he reluctantly climbed into the carriage, switching to carrying his bag on his lap. The bushy-haired one looked at him strangely.

“You know you are supposed to leave your bag at the station. They will move it to your room for you rather than you carrying it everywhere.”

Kakashi just looked at her, his mind running through the potential security risks and hazards that would occur due to this type of system. How had they survived this long?

“I did not know, Granger-san. I am new and do not quite understand your way of doing things,” Kakashi replied, using the confused new student trick to deter her.

She frowned and turned away, instead speaking with Potter and Weasley.

This was going to be a long mission.


	9. Hogwarts

The children were still chattering as the carriage neared what Kakashi deduced was the front entrance, if the floods of students passing through the doors were any indication. He took a moment to survey the outside of the castle, constructing a mental map.

The castle was made up of mainly towers topped with cone shaped roofs and soaring archways leading to different sections. It was also easy to defend, as the rocks at its base would make it difficult for non-shinobi to climb unless they used their ‘magic’. Even then, they would be seen. Most of the windows were small making it more difficult to attack through them with projectiles and the foundations looked sturdy; they could take a few explosive tags and remain upright. There also seemed to be little sense of order about the layout, as if they haphazardly placed the different structures wherever they felt like at the time. Though he could see basic cubes and cuboids making up the structures. The courtyard that the carriage had entered seemed closed in, with the surrounding walls creating the feeling of being in a box despite the lack of roof. The overall impression he got from the castle was defensible and pointy. They really had far too many of those pointy roofs.

However, there must have been a magical element protecting the castle to ward off those kinds of offensives. Like some kind of shield jutsu or something similar to Minato-sensei’s seals.

Memories danced at the edge of his vision.

Summer days spent doing calligraphy with Minato-sensei; a storage seal backfiring on Obito when he sneezed and jolted the brush; Rin and her perfect chakra control making it easy for her to use to correct amount of chakra. Though his sensei had managed to impart some of his knowledge in fūinjutsu, his team was never the greatest at them though not through lack of effort.

Kakashi was proficient enough, so setting up defenses in addition to what Hogwarts already had shouldn’t be difficult. He just needed to find out the jutsu they used so they would not clash.

Potter disembarked the carriage first, occasionally glancing at the skeletal horses. Kakashi followed behind him, shoving away the thoughts of his team and filing away the fūinjutsu for later, feeling the scarf around his neck tighten slightly. They joined the sea of students, climbing the steps to pass through the highly arched threshold. Kakashi scanned his surroundings, noting the stares he had attracted with the modified uniform and the fact he was the only one with the sense to keep his equipment with him. This would aid with the persona of the strange foreign student. He also noticed that the stares varied depending on the colour of tie they wore.

The reds kept glancing between himself and Potter, curiosity evident in their features. The yellows only allowed their eyes to stay a mere second, as if they were nervous of being caught. The blues focused merely on him, cataloguing and analysing what they saw to form a more complete picture. Those wearing the same colour of tie seemed to exhibit similar characteristics and responses. 

And then there were the greens.

The moment they saw the colour of his own tie and whom he was with, they labeled him as an enemy. For a moment, it reminded Kakashi of home. It was petty compared to Konoha and Iwa but the principle was the same. Hating others for where they come from, for what they wear; it was the way things were and always had been. Kakashi would prefer someone die from another village than his own. He supposed that was why it would never change; it was human nature. But it didn’t mean he had to like it; he just had to do his job and protect the village his sensei had treasured, that he treasured. Home, despite the emptiness that lay there.

It was not as if the glares themselves bothered him, but something about the reasons behind them poked at his instincts. He doubted any of the reds had done anything that would warrant this level of intensity, especially Potter. The boy was hardly a threat physically though in regards to jutsu, he had not had the chance to determine his level yet.

The footsteps of the students bounced around the chamber as they approached an open set of large wooden doors. As they passed beneath, Kakashi efficiently cataloged his surroundings, ensuring there would be no immediate threats.

The room was huge, Konoha’s academy seeming tiny in comparison. The ceiling seemed to go on forever, the roof being replaced by the image of the sky outside and candles floated above their heads, casting a soft orange glow on the long wooden tables that spanned the length of the room with benches to match. The candles seemed a bit extravagant and a waste of chakra, the same with the sky. They seemed to serve no defensible purpose, though the candles could be used to produce a _katon_ jutsu far more quickly. At the far end of the hall was another long table, with separate chairs rather than a bench. It was raised slightly and one of the chairs seemed like one the Daimyo would use, rather than a sensei. Strangely, a batted black hat sat on top of a stool in front of the table.

Kakashi strode to his seat next to Potter, noting the slight discomfort of the boy at his presence. True Kakashi had avoided them when possible back at the headquarters, but the situation now required him to stay near Potter. Taking a moment to look around, out of the corner of his uncovered eye, he saw a _thing_. Or rather, he saw right through that _thing_. It looked human but it looked as if chakra had taken shape of a man. His hand fiddled with the end of the kunai in his sleeve, the idea of trying to kill it put on hold when it started talking to students.

It seemed harmless, and reminded him of a ghost, but he would need to hunt it down later to find out what it really was; people do not come back from the dead. He could afford to leave it for now, as his cover and Potter were more important. Not only that, but there was no assurance that his kunai would have any effect. That nightmare back at headquarters was prominent in his mind, causing him to breathe deeply, controlling his heart rate. He also could not afford to reveal his jutsu here.

He quickly scanned the top table, noting Dumbledore-sama in front of the ostentatious throne. He looked further down the line, taking careful notice of the black-robed man who looked though he was permanently smelling the Inuzuka kennels. His gaze narrowed as he stopped on the pink lump at the table, the toad. His ears twitched at the memory of her voice. She was Ministry; what reason would their council have to get involved with education? Was there an issue with the teaching itself, or was there something more going on? His gaze switched to Dumbledore-sama. The sensei looked straight back at him, a strange look in his eye.

The hall started to fall silent as the students looked to the back. Kakashi did the same, although he had not quite determined why yet. An instructor strode down the length of the hall, her robes fluttering behind her. She vaguely reminded Kakashi of a cat, much like the more animal based clans in Konoha. A gaggle of small children followed her, their eyes darting around the hall as fast as their hearts were beating. They looked Genin age, but they were only starting their jutsu training now? Were these people so slack in their preparation for future battles?

They stopped in front of the stool, the sensei stopping behind it. The hall seemed to be waiting for something, those sitting near Kakashi barely breathing. Suddenly the hat started to sing.

Kakashi just stared.

An old singing hat?

They could not be serious.

It was a hat and it was singing.

Kakashi had seen some strange things in his shinobi career so far, but the singing hat pretty much took the top spot. The most prominent question that thundered through his brain was why? What was the point? A secondary thought passed as he thought about how it was powered, but it was pushed to the back of his mind as he listened to the… hat’s… words. Was this the history of Hogwarts? Was the hat warning them of something?

The song ended and applause slowly built up. Murmuring around him informed him that this song was highly unusual for the hat, as if it were a living construct capable of its own thoughts. It had to be powered by a jutsu of some kind, but it would have to be very complex to produce this level of interaction. The sensei at the front then proceeded to call forth students and place the hat on their heads. It proclaimed a house for each student, leading Kakashi to wonder what qualified them for the house they were place in. Was it a certain quality they possessed?

He looked up as Dumbledore-sama stood, asking for silence.

“To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands, welcome back! Both I allow you to tuck into a most delightful feast there is one more student to be welcomed,” he said, he voice echoing in the hall.

“After the tournament last year, and the tragedy that befell Cedric Diggory, we formed solid bonds with our fellow schools. It is with this result in mind that I reached out to another school, though this time out with the continent of Europe. Japan, which is found in Asia, was willing to lend us one of their finest students for the year in order to build stronger relations between us.”

Dumbledore-sama motioned Kakashi to rise. He stood, his eye flickering over the sea of faces turned towards him.

“Kakashi Hatake of Mahoutokoro, a fifth year student, will be staying with Gryffindor house for the duration of the year. Please respect his culture and privacy, and welcome him with the same enthusiasm and kindness we gave to our guests last year,” Dumbledore-sama continued.

Kakashi bowed, and sat down. Dumbledore-sama clapped his hand and endless varieties of food appeared in front of them on massive platters.

“Let the feast begin!”

* * *

Harry shoveled a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth, half-listening to the conversation between Nick and Ron. Out of the corner of his glasses, he could see Hatake looking at the food in front of him.

The shinobi had managed to try everything Harry had picked before he had even taken a bite from his plate. The mask covering his face had not moved, though Hermione was making quite an effort to burn a hole through it. After the initial tasting the shinobi had not eaten anything since, choosing to sit and watch the hall, occasionally answering questions when they were asked. His answered flowed, as though he really was a student at some foreign school. Much like before, in the train, it was difficult to identify this aloof stranger to the shadow that had followed him for a month. His duffle sat at his feet, though that could be explained by the weird look he had given Hermione when she had suggested he leave it behind. It was still strange to be so close to him, to see him interact with people. The man that Harry had built up an image of was gone, though bits of him peaked out at different moments. He was still unfriendly but that could be explained by being thrust into a foreign country and being surrounded by strangers.

Harry had no idea was to expect from Hatake anymore, but if anything this made him more curious about him. He was a murderer-for-hire, whose worst fear was dying people. He was cold and rude, but could speak and blend in as though he were not much different than them. He was strange and Harry found himself questioning whether this made him good or bad.

Right now Kakashi was just like any other student, if a little distant with a weird uniform. Though if he kept it up, he would starve before Harry could find out if this was permanent. Harry leaned over slightly, causing the grey eye to lock onto his own.

“The food is safe, you know. The elves prepare it in the kitchen and magic is used to transport it to the hall,” he explained, hoping this would convince him.

In the corner of his eye he saw Ron looking at him the same way he had in second year, before they entered the forest to find Aragog. Harry gave him a look, agreeing to talk about it later. He turned back to the shinobi, spotting him looking between himself and Ron. Kakashi turned back to the table, not once glancing at the food in front of him.

“Thank you, Potter-san, but I merely wished to sample your cuisine. I have had my fill but I thank you for your concern,” Kakashi replied, his eyes darting back to Harry once before looking around once more.

Harry sighed and exchanged another look with Ron. He shook his head, denying his insanity at casually chatting to the murderer next to him, but what else could he do? He may have grown up in a place that forced him to kill, but could he really be a bad person? His worst fear was dying people. That wasn’t the thoughts of a cold-hearted killer. Voldemort was a real murderer; but the more time he spent around the shinobi, the less he believed the words he had hurled at him at their first meeting.

Harry happened to glance down at their arms when a potato fell from his fork to the floor. He spotted a glint from Kakashi’s sleeve, his fingers fiddling with whatever was there. His gaze snapped up, the potato forgotten. Hatake’s sole eye turned to steel for a moment, as if scolding Harry for believing he could treat him as he did others, even if it was only for a moment. He may not be a bad person, but he was dangerous.

Harry turned back to his meal, glancing once more to the foreigner to his side. The shinobi was glaring at the fork and food in front of him. He seemed to come to a decision, and completely pushed them away from him, returning to watching the hall and answering the odd question. Harry shook his head, turning fully to talk with the other Gryffindors. He had enough problems this year without adding in a killer who seemed to have something against the school’s food. He had survived the month at Grimmauld without eating a meal with them, he’ll be fine now.

* * *

Kakashi sighed slightly as the academy finally finished with their meals. The samples he had tested for poison under the guise of trying their cuisine were far too rich and slightly sickening. He would have to settle for his rations for now, until he could determine if there was anything leaner or lighter.

When Potter had spoken up about the elves, Kakashi had added another task to accomplish before the end of the academy year. Locate the kitchen and research these ‘elves’ they spoke of. He had sensed Potter growing more comfortable in his presence during the meal; a stark contrast to their first meeting. Though it might prove an advantage if Potter were to start trusting him more, he couldn’t afford to let the boy become too friendly. So when the boy had dropped a potato between them, he adjusted his kunai, allowing the boy a small peek. A gentle reminder that he was not here a student but as Potter’s protection.

Kakashi had stared down at the plate before him, deciding to make it clear that he was done. He pushed it away so others would not be tempted to comment, and returned to surveying the halls, doing his upmost to avoid as many questions as possible. The masses of plates and dishes were cleared away, and Dumbledore-sama had once again stood, delivering the rules and restrictions. The pink toad had stood up after the introductions of the new sensei, coughing to gain the attention of Dumbledore-sama.

Umbridge’s voice was just as painful as it was at Potter’s trial. For some reason, she set Kakashi on edge, though she was no physical threat and the pink attire did not allow others to take her seriously. He could sense the other students around him become on guard as well at the start of her speech. There was just something about her that bothered Kakashi. The speech itself was patronizingly insignificant, as if she were speaking only to attempt to lay down some sort of authority. She twisted and weaved words with precision, but an untrained ear would not be able to identify anything wrong.

From her speech, Kakashi gleaned that the Ministry were displeased with Hogwarts and had decided to try and exert some control on the situation. Though by the blank, bored faces around him, it appeared no other had seen underneath the underneath. Except for Granger. Once the speech had ended, Kakashi listened as she explained what Umbridge was really trying to say. Granger was intelligent, more so than her two companions. Kakashi filed away this information for later use, and grabbed his duffle, following Potter from the hall.

Many whispers and stares trailed them, but Kakashi could tell that not all were for him. Potter hunched over slightly as the murmur of the crowd passed over him, as if he could hide from those who spoke. Kakashi followed Potter as the younger boy strode through the halls of the castle, adding each place they passed through to the map in his head, the image becoming more detailed. He took note of the animated paintings and the moving staircases, the strangeness of the wizard seeming never to cease. Potter came to a halt in front of a large painting, the girth of the woman within taking up the entire space. As Potter mumbled about a password, Longbottom-san came running up from behind them.

“Harry, I know it! Guess what it is? I am actually going to be able to remember it for once. _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ ,” he announced, the door swinging open in response.

Kakashi committed the strange words to memory, remembering it was the name of the putrid plant that had burst on the way here. He entered the room, taking in the shades of red. The overall feeling he got from the room was warm. The red colours that dominated the room, the large fireplace against one wall, the general comfortable look of the place. Kakashi eyed the seats, suspecting that he was would be smothered by the cushions. The room was almost suffocating. While the effect was warmth, Kakashi could only think of different shades of blood that would match these colours. The drapes over there were the colour of Minato-sensei’s stomach when they had found them and the deep red over by the bookshelves was the same charred red as the hole in Rin’s chest. Some reds matched Kushina-nee’s hair, while others matched Obito’s _Sharingan_. Some were identical to the swirls on Minato-sensei’s coat. There was even some crimson to match Rin’s scarf, which constricted his throat, causing his breaths to come out shallow. All around the room he could see what he had lost in the warmth, the heat reminding him of the flames that had consumed Konoha the night of the Kyūbi attack.

Potter turned back to him.

“I’ll show you where our room is going to be. We share between a bunch of us so don’t expect a lot of privacy,” he said, setting out towards a set of stairs.

Kakashi jolted slightly, focusing on Potter as the boy turned towards the stairs. The shinobi breathed more deeply, shoving away the thoughts. No doubt they would resurface later, but it would be at a time when he was not in the midst of a new environment. Looking around the room, and ignoring the memories, Kakashi identified a few ideal places to hide defensive seals. Two other boys were already in the room when Potter and Kakashi arrived. They were unpacking and as Potter went to do the same, Kakashi located the unclaimed bed and set his bag on it.

“Hi,” Potter said to the boys, sounding as if he were expecting it react like an incorrectly designed seal.

“Hey, Harry,” said the one who was changing.

The boy turned to Kakashi and waved.

“Hey, Kakashi, was it? I’m Dean Thomas and the guy over there is Seamus Finnegan,” he said.

Kakashi bowed his head once in greeting, looking over the two boys.

“Hello, Thomas-san, Finnegan-san. Please call me Hatake,” Kakashi replied.

“Hatake? Isn’t that your surname?” Thomas asked, pausing in his activities to look at the shinobi.

“ _Hai_ , but it is considered polite in my country to use the family names, rather than the first,” Kakashi explained, watching a confused look pass over the other boy’s face.

“Alright, Hakate,” Thomas replied, the name coming out slightly wrong. He turned back to continue unpacking, glancing at Potter.

“Good holiday? Had to be better than Seamus from what he has been saying,” Thomas chuckled.

“What happened, Seamus?” Longbottom-san spoke up, finishing tending to his plant.

Finnegan was silent for a few moments, fiddling with some coloured paper he was attaching to the wall. Did it serve some defensive purpose, but if so why was it so large and easily targeted? Kakashi thought, not quite understanding the function. It reminded him of flyers that were hung around the village, but why would he have something like that here?

“Me mam didn’t want me to come back to Hogwarts,” the boy admitted, his accent making it difficult for Kakashi to understand.

“It was because of you Harry. You and Dumbledore… er…well, she…”

Potter paused in his undressing, staring at the boy.

“She believes the _Daily Prophet_?” Potter exclaimed, shock obvious in his features.

Kakashi made a mental note to locate and assess this ‘prophet’, as the argument between the two boys escalated. There must be something about it that was causing this. From what he could understand, it was about the events that led to Diggory’s death, though something about it was causing differing opinions. Why would there be two different accounts of the same night? Potter was an eyewitness, while it seemed the other source was not so why would they believing the more inaccurate one?

Weasley-san stepped into the room, immediately supporting Potter, and threatening the other boy. There was a moment of balance after Longbottom spoke up, also taking the defense of Harry. There was a moment of balance when neither side moved, nor spoke. Finnegan snorted and stormed from the room, the tension diffusing as he left. The mood of the room was still unpleasant as the other boys went to bed, silence suffocating any motion of speech.

After locating the bathroom, and washing his hands, trying to free himself of the wet sensation that had covered them since he had entered the red room, Kakashi shed his own clothes until he was down to only his trousers and his back shirt. He kept on his mask and the strip of cloth covering Obito’s eye. After neatly organizing his equipment he packed it away, placing a seal on the drawer he stored his belongings in, while keeping the books for the year on the bed. He climbed into it and felt himself sink with the softness. Pulling the curtains closed around him he settled into a sitting position, grabbing the book on ‘charms’. Once all the boys were asleep he would go and recce the area, but for the next hour or so he may as well begin devising ways to use his chakra to make it look as though he could do their jutsu.

He would need to start on the mental list he had been constructing tomorrow, once he had secured the castle with _fūinjutsu_.

It had certainly been an interesting day but Kakashi knew that this was just the beginning.


	10. Monday

Kakashi looked up from his book to see the boys in the dorm finally awakening. He had made it back the hour before, finishing his night long investigation of the castle.

This place had more secluded and obscure passages than any enemy base Kakashi had seen before. There seemed to be no real thought into how the structure was built, matching his thoughts when he had first set eyes on it. But underneath the random chaos, there was a defensive structure. The unpredictability of the castle was a weapon in itself. There had been all sorts of odd features; moving staircases, living paintings, weird little creatures who had cringed at the sight of him. They had worn nothing but the bare minimum to cover themselves and they had been far too submissive. All things he would need to investigate at a later date. For now he had managed to place seals in the crucial positions; though when he had come across an atrociously pink room he had discovered something that was not so much interesting as alarming.

Seals.

Fuinjutsu, exactly like he could do, what Minato-sensei had taught him. They had been surveillance seals, more used to gather information than to take any kind of action, but they had been there. Which meant there was someone like himself with a mission at Hogwarts; a mission involving the toad woman.

He had left them where they were, not daring to alter them. That would just alert the other shinobi that there was someone like themselves at the academy. He did add a couple of his own chakra-sensing seals, though he made sure that they were placed far enough from the office that they would not be noticed, but with enough range he could get the answers he was looking for.

Until he could locate the other shinobi, all he could do was ensure the safety of Potter.

Once the castle was secured, he returned to the dorm and added extra shielding seals around Potter’s bed. Not one of the boys stirred even once at his presence travelling around the room, and once done, had changed into his altered uniform, minus the swishy cloak. He reset the red scarf around his neck, only taking it off for the time it took to put the black sweater over his head. It rested on his shoulders, a deceptively light weight as if congratulating him for avoiding his nightmares for the night.

At least for the moment; not even shinobi could go forever without sleep.

After a breakfast of jerky and rice from his rations, he had settled himself by the window with the book _1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi_ , taking the opportunity to use Obito's Sharingan to memorise most of the information after using the necklace to convert it into kanji. He was good with books even without his implanted bloodline, but he did not have the time to learn it all the traditional way.

All the students in his year had had four years of learning, and though he was an exchange student he was expected to have learned it in the school back in Japan. So he needed at least a working knowledge of the subjects in their curriculum so it would not be obvious he had never heard of things such as _flubberworm mucus_ and _fairy wings_ in his life.

He pulled down the strip of cloth as the boys dragged themselves from the too-soft beds. Kakashi had been slightly unsettled when he had sat on his the first time he had gone through his books. His futon back at his apartment was far better; the hard surface of the floor beneath the thin sheets a comforting solid to center himself with at the end of a particularly draining mission.

Potter and Weasley fumbled through their morning routines, the boy they had been arguing with the day before bolting out the door as soon as he was decent. Kakashi rose from his place at the window, gaining a few glances from the remaining boys in the room. He crossed over to his bed and grabbed a smaller bag to put his books into. He shrugged on the cloak and followed Potter out the dorm, lifting the strap of the bag over his head. The tan bag was simple, with just one opening for the books, but it was modified so the lining carried a number of supplies. He placed his ‘wand’ in, and closed it. Potter turned around just before they reached the common room and seemed as though he was looking for something to say.

“How…how are you doing with all of this? Did you even sleep last night?” he asked, his green eyes looking into Kakashi’s grey.

Kakashi raised a single eyebrow at him.

Since the train Potter had been acting differently towards him. When they had first met, Potter had been disgusted by him and his profession but now he was asking after his welfare? Or was he asking for another reason?

“It is nothing I cannot handle,” Kakashi replied, reprimand subtle in his tone.

Potter looked at him for a moment, before turning back to the common room and entering, the Weasley boy shooting a look between Kakashi and his friend. The common room was much livelier than the previous night though Kakashi could sense the sluggish feeling that surrounded the students.

Granger joined the boys and they had run into the twins when Kakashi was almost poked in the shoulder. He turned to look at the student who was lowering their hand.

“Good morning, Hatake. It’s Hatake, right? How are you?” Longbottom asked, fidgeting.

“Good morning and it is Hatake,” Kakashi said.

The chubby boy looked as though he was searching for some way to continue the conversation, though Kakashi was not sure why.

“What’s your school like?” Longbottom asked.

Kakashi looked at him in silence for a moment.

“Sorry if I am annoying you, but you seem nice. Really quiet but you are hundreds of miles from home,” Longbottom continued, growing increasingly nervous from Kakashi’s gaze.

“It is alright, Longbottom-san. It is natural to be curious. Thank you for your consideration but I must make my way to breakfast,” Kakashi said, as he spotted Potter and his friend breaking away from the twins.

He kept his guard up as he passed the twins, their actions at Grimmauld at the forefront of his mind. They were far more devious than they led others to believe. However, Longbottom seemed far too nice. The boy had obviously been victimized in his past yet he reached out to others with such ease. Their interaction though had confirmed he had succeeded in blending in with the student populace. He appeared to them as strange and an oddity, as he should as someone from a foreign place but enough of a student as to include him into their lives. They were also unsure enough to generally leave him alone.

Now he just had to maintain this for the year.

The first lesson of the day had been History of Magic and the professor looked almost the same as the _thing_ he had seen the day before at dinner. It had all the characteristics that could be used to describe a ghost, but the concept had difficulty sticking in Kakashi’s logic-guided mind. However, during his nightly patrol of the castle and even during breakfast, he had spotted many of these ‘ghosts’ and they had presented no threat. None of the staff has any concerns and the students regarded them as almost part of the furniture. They also could not touch anything, going straight through everything they touched.

Useless in any combat situation but with potential as a spy.

During the class, he had noted that all the students excluding Granger failed to pay any attention, the majority falling asleep. The worst that Binns seemed capable of was sending his students to sleep, but that was more due to the lack of discipline rather than any special jutsu that he possessed. Kakashi managed to get through the first part of the textbook, extracting what he needed from the never-ending lecture.

Knowledge was the best weapon that any shinobi could possess.

Once this class had finished, he followed the whines and groans of Weasley and Potter down a darker section of the castle, to the Potions classroom.

They entered the dark room and settled themselves on a desk. They appeared to be in pairs though there was enough equipment on each table for each to work by themselves. Kakashi situated himself at the back, only a table behind Potter. Here he could not only see the room clearly, but could reach Potter and the door in a matter of seconds if was something to happen.

A large boy sat himself beside Kakashi, his lip curling in disgust. Kakashi glared back, noting that though there was hostility, there were no indications that the boy would act on it. The fact he was wearing green explained the attitude. He turned back to look at the door. A shadow swept into the room, his black robes billowing out behind him. Dark eyes scanned the room, framed by long greasy hair. Snape, the missing member of the Order. His eyes found the shinobi and lingered, his lips twisting into a sneer. He broke into a speech about exams called O.W.L.s, shooting nasty looks at Potter and Longbottom as he did so, and announced the first assignment of the year.

For a member of Dumbledore-sama’s organisation, he seemed very hostile towards Potter. It did not seem dangerous; more like vindictive, but it was something to monitor. There was history there and it was not a pleasant one.

“Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation,” Snape said, pointing out the materials that would be required to create the concoction.

The process reminded Kakashi of making poisons. Although Suna was the real expert in poisons; Konoha was proficient, Tsunade-sama being their best example. Kakashi himself was no stranger to the skill, as sometimes a well-timed drink was more effective than any blade or jutsu. 

Best of all, it not require their twigs so all he had to do was follow the recipe. Potions was a subject that required less magic and more precision, as all you had to do was follow the instructions. Though he would need to be wary when they required chakra to make a certain potion; he did not think his was compatible. However, the real challenge lay in decoding what was required to make the damn thing.

Since he had made his way through the textbooks only that morning, not all of the ingredients were as foreign as they would have been. The instructions made no sense, as how would anything change by stirring it a different way, but Kakashi followed them to the letter. Other students were not so careful. One of the fat ones had managed to set himself on fire, and Weasley had by far the worst smelling one. The putrid stench invaded Kakashi’s senses, blocking out all others until the boy put a cover on his cauldron. The smell remained but it was no longer overpowering.

His sense of smell had been valuable throughout his career as a shinobi, but this was one of the few times he would not mind toning it down.

How could they get it so wrong? He did not even know about any this until this morning, having focused on charms and transfiguration since they would be the most difficult to replicate.

The boy next to him tried to stop his potion from boiling over, the strange purple colour dripping onto the table.

His own result was not what should of happened, but was very different from the other failures around the room. It was the right colour, although it was more a dull grey than silver, but it gave off no vapour. It was just like any other liquid. Judging by the variety of ways it could go wrong something was supposed to happen.

Not many had managed to succeed, Potter, Weasley and Longbottom to name a few, and as Snape passed his workstation his face twisted into an ugly expression.

“Settling in, Hatake? Try not to cause any… trouble while you are attending our school,” Snape sneered, his tone condescending as he drew out the words.

Snape spent the rest of the lesson tearing apart Potter’s attempt to create the potion, with the green robed students jeering behind him. Kakashi looked at Potter, who stared at his empty cauldron with a mixture of anger and humiliation, and set his own on Snape’s desk. Potter bolted from the room, leaving his friends behind. Kakashi sped to follow, feeling Snape’s eyes bore into the back of his head. No projectiles joined them so Kakashi left, catching Potter quickly. He pulled the boy aside into an empty classroom.

“Potter-san, bare your shoulder,” Kakashi asked, taking a brush and ink from his bag.

“Why?” Potter snapped, placing his hand over the shoulder closest to Kakashi as if trying to protect it.

“Do it or I will,” Kakashi replied, his lone grey eye glaring at the boy.

Potter stared at him for a moment, still unsure but gradually lowering his collar. Kakashi quickly painted the seal onto the back of his shoulder and pushed chakra into it, the ink lighting up briefly before settling down. He placed his supplies back into his bag and was about to head towards the door when Potter called out to him.

“What was that? And before you say something like ‘for your protection’ what exactly did you write? I know you can’t hurt me but I should still know,” Potter called out, one hand touching the seal.

Kakashi sighed and turned.

“It is a seal that alerts me when poison has entered your system,” he replied, watching the boy’s eyes widen.

“Why would I need that?”

“I cannot keep testing everything you eat or drink,” Kakashi said.

The ‘new student’ routine would only work for so long, and he could not successful test everything Potter had for the next ten months. He also could not keep eating such rich foods. His usual diet was enough for a shinobi, but it consisted of lean meats, soup and rice with the occasional ramen and solider pill. Nothing as heavy as they had. He would need to find something more suitable in the massive spread that appeared at each meal.

The pair continued in silence to the Great Hall, just sitting down as Granger and Weasley joined them. As the three tucked into their meal, Kakashi nursed his water, eyes scanning the people surrounding them.

* * *

Harry watched the shinobi as the bickering of Hermione and Ron washed over him.

He wasn’t eating, just had a glass of water in front of him. He couldn’t recall seeing him eat at breakfast either, but he must have. He looked too thin compared to the students around him but Harry was sure that it wasn’t because he barely ate.

That morning, when they had headed down to the common room the shinobi was already up and dressed by the time he and Ron had managed to get up. He wondered if the shinobi had actually slept. If he hadn’t then what had he been doing for the whole night? The thought that the shinobi had been moving around their room without waking them, had been watching him sleep unsettled him. Not only that, but it was strange seeing the shinobi at all. Back in Grimmauld, they had rarely seen him but now he practically never left their side. Watching him interact with others was even stranger. The monotone hadn’t changed, and neither had the stone-cold body language, but he had answered when Neville had spoken to him.

He still wasn’t totally sure why he had asked the shinobi if he was okay, as since they met the shinobi had been either absent, rude or just silent, but Harry was sure something had changed. It might have been the boggart or when he had spoken to Neville on the train, but the shinobi was not the same inhuman statue they had met the month before. He had also asked about the sleeping thing, but that was more to put to rest his unease at being watched during the night than for any thoughts of Hatake’s well-being.

Of course, Harry had recognized the mistake with Hatake’s answer. He could have almost heard the shinobi saying ‘shut up and do not question me’. Ron had told him afterwards in a variety of ways how idiotic he had been talking to ‘him’.

It wasn’t as if Hatake could hurt any of them, but it was in moments like that Harry briefly forgot his profession. He hadn’t been able to help the slight fear that had welled in him when Hatake had pulled him into the empty room. It had reminded him of when they first met, a killer draped in shadows. It had been a while since then, but occasionally Harry would catch glimpses of that man. The man was still a murderer, even if he didn’t act like it as much as he usually did.

Harry looked over at Hermione as she stopped arguing with Ron.

“So why the sudden change? You skulk about Grimmauld for a month and now you are chatting with Neville?” she asked, eyes narrowed.

Harry watched as the single grey eye watched her impassively. Chatting was not the word he would have chosen for the stilted exchange between Neville and Hatake that morning. Though looking into his eye, he could see not reaction to what she had said. The dead, dull feeling in the grey orb did not waver, as it hadn’t since they met. Harry glanced at the strip of cloth that covered his other eye and wondered, not for the first time, why it was covered.

Had he lost it or was there something wrong with it?

“I am an exchange student. I am required to build relations between our schools,” the shinobi droned, his voice in the same monotone it always was.

“But that is not the real reason, is it? Protecting Harry is,” she replied, looking for an answer that Harry wasn’t sure she would find.

“Potter-san is my guide for the year as I acclimatize to a new environment,” Hatake replied.

“So you haven’t managed to kill anyone yet?” Ron scoffed, putting his fork on the table.

Though Harry had been conflicted about what to think of the shinobi since the last night at Grimmauld, Ron had never wavered. Distrust and disgust were strong in his expression. The shinobi merely glanced at the redhead before continuing to look around the room.

“You wizards do not require me to increase the body count,” he suddenly said, rising from the table.

Harry froze.

What did he mean by that? Was it a reference to Cedric, to Voldemort? Why would he say something like that? Ron and Hermione were equally as shocked as the shinobi rose from his place at the table, looking back at Harry. He tore his gaze away from the silver-haired man and looked around, finally noting the almost empty hall.

“We’re going to be late,” Harry said, joining the shinobi at walking towards the class. He stood apart from him, still reeling over his words.

Were more going to die?

* * *

Kakashi stared at the crazy woman who claimed to be their professor. Since none of the students were showing concern it had to be true but spouting nonsense about the future? This was a genuine subject?

He and the two boys sat around the circular table, the glass ball in the centre swirling with smoke. They were acting strange around him, more than usual. Weasley still had a grudge against him but Potter had recently been less suspicious, less hostile. Kakashi figured it was due to the foreign student persona he had crafted for dealing with Hogwarts but he did not expect the boy to be affected by it, knowing as much of the truth as he did. However, now they were both acting hostile, Potter shooting confused glances at him every so often.

Did they not realize that people died in wars? Did they expect to come out of theirs unscathed?

Kakashi placed these thoughts to the back of his mind as he listened to the two boys try to make up a dream to interpret.

“I never remember my dreams. You say one,” Ron grumbled.

“You must remember one of them,” Harry replied, impatience lacing his tone.

The class had been split into pairs but since there was an uneven number, Kakashi just stayed with them. They had been set the task of interpreting dreams, and their group was failing at just coming up with a dream. Weasley was useless, mentioning something about ‘quidditch’ – which Kakashi was pretty sure was a sport here, having heard it mentioned – and Potter was refusing to say anything of his. Potter suffered from nightmares, and Kakashi could understand wanting to keep them to himself.

The woman strode up to Kakashi, trying a bit too hard to seem whimsical; she had the weird part perfected though.

“You are from a far away land, a land of green and red,” Trelawney announced, her eyes bugging out behind her large round frames.

Kakashi just continued to look at her.

“It wasn’t your fault, you know. You have a part in the years to come, do not forsake the future in favour of the past.”

She patted his shoulder and floated off to terrorize the next student. Kakashi stared wide-eyed at her retreating back. Why would she say that? Does she have access to intelligence that he was not aware of?

The class came to an end and Kakashi left through the trapdoor attaching a surveillance seal to the side of the frame on his way down. As he followed behind Potter to their final class, he adjusted the sleeve on his left arm, making sure the kunai was still secured. He placed the scroll that matched the seal in his bag, the object resembling one of their parchments. It recorded what was said and transcribed what the other seal had recorded.

Minato-sensei had come up with it shortly before he became Hokage. It had saved not only time and money from excess missions, but also the lives of spies who could now complete their mission far from the reaches of danger. Kakashi could still remember Sensei hunched over his desk, mumbling nonsense under his breath as he scribbled away. Kushina-nee had made miso soup that night and had ‘insisted’ that Kakashi stay for dinner.

It was a long time ago.

They reached the classroom and settled themselves down, the chair in perfectly neat rows and each desk spotless. The pink toad sat at the front, daintily waiting for the last one to straggle in. At least, she was trying for dainty, but with a body such as that, it came across more as though she were bloated. As the last student darted into the room, she smiled at them and coughed slightly, gathering their attention.

“Good Afternoon,” she greeted, the pitch irritating Kakashi’s ears as much as the first time that he had heard it.

He sighed and glared, an uneasy feeling tingling the edge of his thoughts


	11. Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beautiful beta, Hiniwalay, started helping me out this chapter so the quality goes up dramatically!

The class mumbled a reply to the pink toad, the words they might have been saying becoming garbled as they spoke at different times. Kakashi did not even bother; he remained as he was, glaring.

“Tut, tut. That won’t do, now, will it? One more time please, I should like you to reply ‘Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge’. Good afternoon, class!” she said, her sweet tone almost causing Kakashi to gag.

Her patronizing tone made him bristle; there was just something about the way she spoke to them that made him angry. As if they were unable to comprehend her words, like infants. Kakashi had the fleeting notion that she was going to offer them sweeties and give them a sticker for being good.

“Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge,” the class repeated, the dull, low tone indicating that they were also less than impressed.

“Well done! Now wands away and take out your quills and parchment. Copy the title and the aims that are on the board please,” Umbridge instructed, tapping the board with her own stick.

Kakashi had not taken his stick out, but he pulled out the stationary that was required. The quill had a knack to using it, unlike the simple brushes back in Konoha, but it had not taken Kakashi long to master it. He eyed the characters on the board and copied them down onto his paper, and tapped Dumbledore-sama’s necklace onto it to translate. Though he could not understand the scrawl, he could still copy it; an ability necessary for fūinjutsu as an eye for detail made the difference between a successful seal and singed eyebrows.

He vaguely listened to the words of the teacher, picking out any important parts that could aid him in the future. She seemed overly fond of the words ‘Ministry-approved’; and she spoke as if she was doing them a great favour by ‘fixing’ their education. Kakashi glanced up from his work as he felt a pair of eyes on him. He looked to the front and saw Umbridge staring at him, as if waiting for something.

“Mr. Hatake, I really don’t think all those coverings on your face are really necessary. Would you mind taking them off in class, please, so we can see your engagement with the lesson? You most certainly don’t need that scarf indoors,” she asked, smiling sweetly at him.

Kakashi shook his head.

“I am unable to do that. Due to personal reasons I am not required to divulge, I have been granted permission to keep them,” he replied, waiting for her reaction.

He had not been told outright that he had permission, but it had not been brought up during the earlier parts of the day so it had not really been an issue. Either way, he had no desire for anyone to see his face. The last ones to see him without a mask had been Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee, only days before the Kyūbi attack; they had had miso soup for dinner that night.

“Now, now, Mr. Hatake, it shouldn’t be too hard, should it? You have to take it off to eat and drink and such so it shouldn’t be a problem to take it off for class,” Umbridge said firmly, smiling ever so sweetly. “Now, I suggest you comply with my instructions or I am afraid I will be forced to take action.”

Kakashi stared, thoughts of a counter-attack forming in his head if she went through with it.

“I was not made aware that teachers were able to use their abilities against students,” he wondered, watching as her eyes narrowed a fraction.

Umbridge glanced around the class, the smile never leaving her face.

“I shall have a word with the Headmaster regarding your ‘reasons’ but for now, everyone turn to page five and read ‘Chapter One: Basics for Beginners’. There is no need to talk.”

She sat behind her desk and slide her gaze across the class, hands clasped in front of her and her beady eyes sharper than her appearance would suggest. Kakashi kept his awareness open as he translated the textbook, on edge as her eyes rested on him for a moment. There was something about Umbridge; he had felt it at the Ministry and the feast. It felt as though if he let his guard for a moment he would regret it. It was a common feeling when surrounded by shinobi, considering they were professional assassins. Among these people he had not found it in anyone other than her, although he was wary of Dumbledore-sama’s power. Perhaps it was due to the fact he was surrounded by students?

Kakashi looked over at Granger, who had been sitting with her hand up since the chapter had been assigned. The majority of the class was now watching the bushy-haired girl and Umbridge decided she could no longer ignore the girl. As the pair spoke, the discussion escalating into an argument involving the rest of the class, Kakashi watched the hands waving in the air and the blatant disregard the teacher had for her students. The students had a point; how were they meant to handle future situations if they were not equipped with practical experience in dealing with them?

The academy back in Konoha had its books and scrolls they were required to learn but the taijutsu and ninjutsu parts of the coursework with almost entirely practical. Once they were placed on a genin team at graduation, all the learning was applied; fūinjutsu and jutsu scrolls being the exceptions. Even with the Sharingan, Kakashi never mastered the jutsus he copied without repeating them until they were second nature. That this academy was expecting their students to pass without any practical training was strange. It was as if the Ministry was trying to limit their capabilities with combat magic. As Potter’s voice rose above the rest, Kakashi noticed the boy growing increasingly angry with the teacher. What he was saying was correct, but nothing good came from correcting your superiors.

“Maybe… _Lord Voldemort_?” Potter spat out in a mocking tone, his green eyes now swirling with fury.

Kakashi noted the reactions from the surrounding students at the name. It seemed that there was a bit of an overreaction with one of the girls going so far to let out a small scream. He could smell the fear from the students at the name.

Umbridge looked at Potter with grim satisfaction, like she had been waiting for him to say it. She stood from her desk and faced them.

“Now let me make things quite plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard has come back from the dead-”

“He wasn’t dead!” Potter exclaimed. “But yeah, he's returned!”

Umbridge did not even turn his way as she continued her anti-Voldemort speech. Harry continued to defend himself, insisting that he was telling the truth. Kakashi furrowed his brow; Potter was an eye-witness, surely that counted for something.

“Detention, Mr. Potter!” Umbridge crowed triumphantly.

Kakashi resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. Now he had to figure out a way to join the boy in detention which would take away from the time he could spend more productively. If it were any other teacher he would be content to leave Potter to his fate and put a _kage bunshin_ on guard outside the class, but he did not think it would be wise to leave Potter alone with her. The boy continued to argue with the teacher, becoming visibly more agitated with every exchange. Umbridge had dropped her fake smile and was now openly glowering at Potter; the tension between the two becoming thick enough to suffocate the class.

“Come here, Mr. Potter, dear,” Umbridge ordered, her girly voice contrasting with the curled lip and furious eyes.

Potter angrily kicked his chair as he strode to the front, his fury preventing him from seeing the shocked pale faces staring at him. Kakashi merely watched, somewhat understanding the anger of the boy. Obviously the death of Diggory had affected him and the refusal of others to listen about what had happened was not helping. Potter was struggling to deal with it; Kakashi had seen it in other shinobi before. The anger at the unfairness of it, the feeling of helplessness, lashing out at others. Everyone dealt with grief differently.

Silence coated the class with the scribbling of the teacher’s quill being the only sound. She handed the pink paper to Potter.

“Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear,” Umbridge instructed, watching with the rest of the class as Potter turned and strode out the door, slamming the door behind him.

Kakashi considered following the boy out the door but remained in his seat. It would appear strange if the new student were to leave in the middle of the lesson; however, he expanded his chakra sense, keeping a tab on Potter. The boy was in no danger in the immediate future.

The tension in the class deflated as Potter left, Umbridge plastering the fake smile from before onto her face.

“Now, if we could continue without further interruptions-”

“I do not understand the animosity towards Potter-san. Surely as an eyewitness, he would be the most reliable source as to what happened to Diggory-san,” Kakashi spoke up, putting a curious expression in his visible eye.

As a foreign student, he could get away with asking questions about things the Hogwarts students would never think to ask. No better time to abuse this asset. Kakashi looked innocently at Umbridge, who had narrowed her beady eyes on him.

“Mr. Hatake, I understand as a foreign student that you might be a bit behind here but this is nothing to concern yourself with,” she dismissed, her voice calm.

“Now, please can you continue reading like the rest of class, dear. The next student to speak out without putting up their hand is going to join Mr. Potter in detention. A third will not inconvenience me greatly, but I imagine you all have homework to be completing instead.”

A third? Who else had managed to annoy the toad today?

“Why are you so sure that he is lying?” he asked.

“Detention, Mr. Hatake. Not the best start to your year at Hogwarts, now is it?” Umbridge snapped, a gleam flashing her eyes for a mere moment.

Kakashi settled down into his seat, a blank expression on his face once more.

* * *

Dinner that evening was a somber affair for Potter and his companions. Kakashi could hear the comments the students were exchanging between themselves; a girl who thought Potter ‘had always been trouble’; a boy who was gloating over the fact Potter was ‘finally losing it’; another girl who had sworn she knew that ‘Potter was going to snap at some point’. Though most of the comments he picked up were mere exaggerations and derogatory slander, he could not help but approve of the speed at which the news of Potter’s confrontation with Umbridge had spread. The information itself was mostly useless though.

Kakashi had managed to locate a bowl of rice in the clutter that covered the table during mealtimes. He ate slowly; grabbing bites during the rare occasions there was no one looking at him. The rest of his rations were to be saved for an emergency and he had finally determined some appropriate dishes in the splurge of colours and smells that decorated the tables at mealtimes. However, some of the students of Hogwarts had decided that right now was the best time to satisfy their curiosity about the new oddity among them. Most had been wary of him, so he had managed to avoid most of the initial questioning that would accompany a new student, but there were some he could not avoid.

“So how are doing with everything? The classes must be pretty different than what you do at home,” Longbottom enquired, pushing his potatoes around his plate.

Kakashi looked at the faces surrounding him.

Potter and the other two were further down the table, giving Thomas, Finnigan and Longbottom the chance to sit around him. Back in Konoha, he hadn’t really needed to socialize with anyone since Minato-sensei died. He reported to the Hokage and his Captain, dodged Gai’s challenges and spoke to Obito at the memorial stone and Rin at her grave. Other than that, he spent his time in solitude; either on missions or training.

He could not completely avoid talking with people here, but it would aid his cover if he spoke to those surrounding Potter.

“I am adapting well to the new environment and they are quite different,” Kakashi answered.

“In what way? I mean, you guys probably don’t have a Snape back in Japan but what are the differences?” Finnigan asked, meat grinding in his mouth.

“We do far more practical than theory in our academy and we have a flexible uniform,” Kakashi said, noting a group of green-tied students glaring at Potter.

“Yeah, that Umbridge is a joke. How are we supposed to pass DADA this year? I need it for sixth year,” Thomas huffed, slumping to lean on his fist.

“Plus all that pink. I heard she is obsessed with cats too. I swear the DADA teachers get weirder every year,” Finnigan agreed, pouring more gravy on his dinner.

“I miss Professor Lupin,” Longbottom sighed, gaining nods of agreement from the other two.

The image of a tired, scruffy man flashed through Kakashi’s mind from his time with the Order.

“What did you mean by ‘every year’?” Kakashi asked, the first time he had spoken without being prompted.

The three exchanged looks before settling their gazes on Kakashi.

“It’s the curse. DADA has a different teacher every year ‘cause something always happens to the one teaching it,” Thomas explained.

“First year was Quirrell, who wore a weird purple turban and tried to kill Harry. Turns out he was trying to steal from the school. Then there was Lockhart, who was useless and lost his memory. Lupin was the best one but he was forced to resign and then there was Moody, who turned out to be a Death Eater,” Longbottom continued.

“All of them involved Harry somehow. Remember that serial killer that was after him in third year?” Finnigan finished, shooting a glance at the bespectacled boy further down the table.

Kakashi processed the information. Potter was a trouble magnet, it seemed. Why would they hire a shinobi this year? By the sound of it, the boy had been in danger since the first day he had stepped into this academy.

“It’s not Harry’s fault stuff keeps happening to him,” Longbottom spoke up.

Finnigan stopped eating and frowned down at his plate.

“But he is always the one involved; even last year at the final stage only he came back alive, while holding Cedric’s body. No one really knows what happened other than what Harry says, but can we really believe that? Especially with everything the Ministry is saying. I mean, how does someone come back from the dead,” Finnegan finished somberly.

“They don’t,” Kakashi said, causing the students to shoot looks at him.

People don’t come back once they are gone. Death was a fact that no one could escape, not in Konoha and not here.

An awkward silence descended over the group for a few minutes. Kakashi stomped on the sudden bitterness and shoved it away, filing away the information gained to analyse another time. There was more going on than was implied on the mission briefing he was given.

“So what’s it like back in your country? Do they all wear masks and those weird shoes?” Thomas asked, attempting to alleviate the atmosphere that had been created.

He deliberated for a moment about what to reveal; he could not compromise the security of his village by answering too much but topics such as footwear should not be much of an issue.

“The area I live is rather small compared to the cities you have here, and some of the population do wear sandals,” Kakashi answered, grabbing a bite as the trio glanced up the hall to look at the first year that had broken his plate.

“What about the mask?” Finnigan said, bringing his attention back to the shinobi. “Are you scarred or something?”

Thomas nudged the boy’s side, making a face.

“You don’t have to answer that. Seamus is still learning when to shut up,” Thomas apologised, looking at Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced up the table, spotting Granger grabbing her bag as the boys climbed out from the benches. Kakashi himself swung his own bag to his shoulder as he stood.

“Thank you for the conversation, but I must make my way to the common room,” Kakashi said, bowing slightly before turning to head out the door.

As he walked he heard one last comment from Finnigan.

“When did he finish dinner? I didn’t even see him eating.”

* * *

Reaching the common room, Potter, Weasley and Granger sat in the seats in front of the fire. Kakashi sat at one of the desk chairs closest to the trio and pulled out his school books. The material that was taught was not especially difficult, just different. Most of it required mere memorization rather than any actual thought process. Although most of what he would learn here would be useless, there was no such thing as too much information. It would also enforce the idea he was one of them, a student completing his homework.

He glanced towards the door of the common room as McGonagall-san came to the door. The room fell into silence as more eyes joined his own.

“Mr. Hatake? Please follow me,” she announced.

Kakashi gathered the books he had just placed onto the table and stuck them back into his bag. Taking the bag, he strode across to the door. He had a good idea of where he was going and if _she_ was there then it was bound to take longer than necessary.

Leaving the room, he followed behind the teacher taking the opportunity to create a _kage bunshin_ while she was not looking. The minimal smoke and immediate _henge_ into a plain student gave her no reason to glance back, and after taking his bag, the _bunshin_ entered the room behind him. While he was at this meeting his _bunshin_ could finish the homework he left in his bag, not only freeing up his time but he would still end up with the information.

It was silent between the teacher and the shinobi, with the occasional student staring as they walked past. A group for boys with blue ties openly gaped, immediately continuing with one look from the teacher. Reaching a tall gargoyle structure, McGonagall-san turned to Kakashi.

“I have been informed of the situation by the headmaster and despite my issues with your age and profession; I know Mr. Potter will be safe with you.”

Kakashi felt a flicker of surprise; he had not expecting that.

“Sherbet lemons,” she said as she turned back.

Kakashi tensed as he heard a scraping sound, similar to the sound of some _doton_ jutsu. The statue in front of them began to move, revealing a set of stone steps. So this was how others got into Dumbledore-sama’s office. He followed McGonagall-san into the office; the interior as obnoxious as the last time he had seen it on patrol. The room was so busy, with constant noise and strange looking furniture. It was opposite of the simple layout of Hokage-sama’s office. He spotted the pink nuisance next to the large desk, and Dumbledore-sama was behind it. Both turned towards them as they entered, her beady eyes latching onto him.

“Kakashi, how are you finding your first day at Hogwarts?” smiled Dumbledore-sama, rising from his chair.

Kakashi nodded his head in a gesture of respect as he stood alert.

“It is providing valuable experience which I think will be beneficial to forming a closer relationship between our academies, and will be a strong starting point for ideal political relations.”

Kakashi kept his gaze level as his eyes met the headmasters.

“Excellent. Now Professor Umbridge has expressed concerns about your uniform and we aim to resolve at soon as possible.” Dumbledore-sama sat back in his chair.

“It is the lack of proper uniform that I have concerns with,” added Umbridge snidely.

“The robe is far too short, your shoes are improper, the scarf should not be worn indoors and all the coverings on your face are extremely unnecessary,” she continued.

The three faces of the teachers turned to him, silently prompting him for an explanation. He merely stared back.

“Well? Have you nothing to say for yourself for so blatantly ignoring the rules of this school?” asked Umbridge, creases lining her pudgy face in triumph.

Kakashi glanced at her before meeting the eyes of his employer. Dumbledore-sama nodded and Kakashi turned back to Umbridge.

“I adjusted the robe as it was far too bulky compared to what I wear in Japan and some students at my academy wear sandals. I believed that as a sole foreign student that allowances would be made to aid with the transition. Was I incorrect?”

Umbridge spluttered slightly at the wording.

“What about that mask and the scarf? The eyepatch?” she blurted out, glaring as Kakashi blankly gazed back.

“The climate here is much colder than Japan, and I lost my eye a few years ago,” Kakashi stated flatly.

The ability to lie by telling the truth was something mastered by all who had to go on long-term undercover missions; not even shinobi could live a complete lie for years at a time.

Umbridge simmered as she glared at him. McGonagall-san stepped forward from her place beside Dumbledore-sama, barely concealing her obvious distaste for the pink woman.

“I find no fault in the explanation he has given us. As a temporary member of _my_ house, I would want him to be as comfortable as possible. Don’t you agree, Dolores?”

The woman’s beady eyes darted from one face to the next, resting on Kakashi’s last.

“Of course, after all, we at the Ministry believe in having only the best of foreign relations. I was just concerned that young Mr. Hatake had not understood how things worked at Hogwarts. Now, I must go and prepare for my detention that I will be conducting, so Mr. Hatake I will see you there,” she said, her smile sweet enough to rot teeth. Her eyes, however, burned like coal and she left the office with her nose up and walking in a manner Kakashi figured she thought was dainty.

After the door had closed and Kakashi had heard her footsteps fade, he altered his posture from that of a respectful student to that of a soldier in front of his commander.

“So, Kakashi, how have you found Hogwarts?” Dumbledore-sama asked, the twinkle in his eye sharpening.

Kakashi glanced at McGonagall-san before he saw Dumbledore-sama nod his head in permission.

“I have secured the castle, Dumbledore-sama and the students are becoming accustomed to the ‘foreign student’ persona I have constructed. I adjusted the uniform not only to maximize my capabilities but also to reinforce the idea that I am indeed foreign, which will allow others to let down their guard with the assumption I would not have the level of understanding that they do since the workings of this country are unfamiliar to me.”

“Constructed?” McGonagall-san interjected, “have all your interactions with the students been faked or scripted?”

She looked faintly disturbed by the idea.

“Minerva, let him finish.”

“There is evidence of another shinobi within the castle, as I have found their methods of surveillance. I am monitoring them so I can find the shinobi and determine whether they are a threat to my mission,” Kakashi complied.

“Another one?” McGonagall-san exclaimed.

“It has not been confirmed; I have only acquired evidence that points to that conclusion.”

Dumbledore-sama leaned forward, resting his head on his hands.

“Kakashi, I would like you to continue to monitor this potential threat and also continue to keep an eye on Harry. Dolores mentioned you had detention?” he enquired.

“Potter-san was given a detention today and I judged it unwise to leave him alone in her presence,” Kakashi replied.

Dumbledore-sama seemed to nod to himself, as if confirming something.

“A wise judgment indeed. Very well, please continue to carry out your mission as you see fit. Dolores should leave you alone about your uniform for the next while after today.”

Kakashi bowed to the pair and left the office, memories of his _kage bunshin_ making their way back to him. It had finished his homework and secured his bag at his bed, and Potter had left for his detention. Making his way to the tower, he ignored the stares of the paintings.

On his first night patrol of the grounds, the numerous paintings that decorated the vast halls of the school had put him on guard. He had encountered similarly animated pictures at HQ before arriving at this academy, but these were more of an issue. Back in HQ, all that were present knew of his occupation and mission however here, only select members of the faculty and the student body knew of his true intentions. From the grumblings he heard from the frames, the paintings had been told to ignore his presence and remain silent about his activities within the castle.

He had not yet uncovered how they were able to move and emit sound, but that was a mystery for another time.

Reaching the DADA classroom, he confirmed Potter had arrived. Looking at the other student in the room, he shut down his automatic response to reach for the kunai hidden in his sleeves. Walking in, he casually took a seat right in between Potter and the other student. He glanced over, noting the green tie before glancing up into loathing brown eyes.

The eyes of a kunoichi.


	12. Kunoichi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Bold' = Japanese

Detention was nothing new to Harry; during his career so far at Hogwarts, he had ended up in a fair number of them. Although entering the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid and Malfoy in his first year and answering fan mail with Lockhart in his second were right up there in his list of worst punishments, Umbridge had managed to top the lot.

Hatake had arrived just after he had and a Slytherin girl had already been seated in the classroom when he had entered the room. There wasn’t anything obvious, but Harry could have sworn that the shinobi and the girl knew each other if the angry glances she was sending at him were any indication. Hatake showed no reaction, but there was a tense line in his shoulders that wasn’t there when he was talking to his fellow Gryffindors at dinner.

He had noticed that the shinobi was talking with Seamus, Dean and Neville and it had surprised him slightly that, although awkward and not that talkative, he really could have passed for a student. If Harry hadn’t been told about the real Hatake, he would never have expected the guy to be a killer. It was confusing him, all these conflicting thoughts about the shinobi. He had known him for over a month now, but all he had seen was the dark killer that watched him from the shadows and the quiet student that barely spoke. He knew he shouldn’t fall for the second one but even just a couple of days into the school year; he had started to doubt the first.

He had heard from Ron what had happened after he had left the class to see Professor McGonagall. Hatake believed him, and he had questioned Umbridge to the point of joining him in detention. It was weird behaviour from the quiet shinobi but it was kind of nice for someone else to believe in him, considering the whole school was practically mocking him.

Although since the detention had started, Harry had focused on one letter after the other, the burning pain in his hand worsening with each stroke of the quill. The words ‘I must not tell lies’ would never leave him after his, and the thought he would have to do this over and over again for the next week twisted his stomach into a knot. He glanced over at the other two for a moment, catching a glimpse of Hatake’s page filled with ‘I must obey the rules’. He couldn’t see the Slytherin girl’s, since Hatake had sat right in between them, cutting off any interaction.

Harry looked down at his own paper, only halfway finished, watching the blood dry for a moment. His head shot up at the almost silent ‘ah hem’ from the pink toad. He tried to keep the pain off his face, since that would give her the satisfaction, but he couldn’t help but grimace as he shifted his bleeding hand. A shot of rage flew through his body at the sweet smirk on her face. He attempted to calm himself, failing until he felt a slight nudge on his arm. Surprise overwhelmed the anger as he looked at Hatake, the shinobi looking straight at him.

They both turned back to Umbridge as she coughed softly again, sweet smirk still in place.

“I think that will be all for today. I hope you have started to accept the flaws in your behaviours so that in the future, you are able to be the bright and behaved students that I know you can be,” she smiled.

Harry’s grip on his bag tightened at the words as he pulled it onto one shoulder, careful not to use his injured hand.

The three students left the class, the door slamming behind them as they left the classroom. They moved down the corridor, away from the toad, before reaching a junction between the common rooms. It was definitely the worst start to the school Harry had experienced at Hogwarts so far, including the time he and Ron had driven into the Whomping Willow. He glanced at the shinobi beside him. Hatake had just kept surprising him since the train; even going so far to stick up for him. Maybe he had been slightly unfair with him...

There was a clash of metal.

Harry felt rather than saw the movement of the other two. He tensed, hand diving into the pocket of his robes as he whipped around to face the noise. Two strange but deadly sharp knives scraped against each other as Hatake and the Slytherin locked in a standstill. Hatake's expression remained the same, though that could have been the mask. The girl's was contorted into an ugly glare.

Her black hair was tied into a bun and her face was quite plain, but the loathing on it sent a chill down Harry's spine. The air seemed... oppressive. His grip tightened on his pocketed wand. He barely registered the sting of pain originating from the raw letters on his hand.

“ **Well, well, who would have thought that one of _Kiiroi Senkō_ ’s brats would have ended up here? I mean, they announce your real name at a feast while you are undercover? Konoha is still far too naive**,” the girl spat.

“ **You were at the Ministry that day** ,” Hatake replied.

“ **As were you. Really, for such a famed shinobi you are falling way below my expectations** _._ **Also, I have to admit my curiosity has been burning since we heard the news**. **Your precious Hokage died last year. Didn’t get any details but tell me; did he die in agony? Like the murderer he was**?” she sneered.

Harry’s eyes switched between the two, his mind swirling and his breathing quick. Was she like Hatake? Obviously an enemy if her actions were anything to go by but what was Hatake doing? What were they saying?

“ **I do not think your mission involves killing me** ,” Hatake replied.

“ **It would be a nice bonus** ,” she smiled cruelly.

There was another blur of movement and Harry lost track of them, before hearing a loud clang much closer to him. He hastily held out his wand, but faltered as he saw Hatake’s back in front of him.

“ **We both know that a fight between us would attract the attention of every teacher, which would not only compromise my cover but yours**. **Revenge against a Konoha-nin or the completion of your mission? Which one?** ” Hatake’s voice was even, and Harry watched as a few drops of blood hit the floor.

Harry heard the girl growl before she appeared a few metres away, weapon nowhere in sight.

“ **You will not leave this school alive, _Sharingan no Kakashi_**.”

She turned and walked towards the dungeons.

It was not until she was out of sight that Hatake lowered his weapon and concealed it, though where Harry had no idea. The silver-haired shinobi turned to look at Harry before beckoning him to follow, as he started down the hall. It was a moment before Harry moved, stuffing his wand back into place.

“Who was she?” he demanded as he hurried to catch up, trying to keep his voice casual against his still pounding heart.

Hatake merely continued walking towards the Gryffindor tower.

“Hey!”

Harry grabbed at Hatake’s shoulder but he never made contact. Before he knew it, Kakashi had dodged and spun to face him. Harry flinched at the cold, dead look in the shinobi’s eyes.

“She is nothing to concern yourself with. Her mission is not focused on you and neither does she have instructions to harm you nor any other student.”

Hatake turned back and resumed walking. Harry jogged lightly until he was beside the shinobi, unsatisfied with his answer.

“How’d you know her mission?” he asked, his curiosity barely managing to overcome his unease.

Hatake ignored him. Harry wanted to yell in frustration; why did no one ever tell him anything?

* * *

When Kakashi and Potter got back to the red room, Potter’s friends immediately came from their place in front of the fire to speak with him, the rest having gone to bed. Kakashi left them as he climbed the stairs, quickly wrapping a spare bandage around his hand as he silently changing into his casual gear, hiding more weapons on himself and pulling on a pair of fingerless gloves. He shifted Rin’s scarf into its place, his fingers lingering over it for a moment.

Descending the stairs he spotted them still chatting around the doorway, Granger examining Potter’s hand. Ensuring none of the children had noticed his entry into the red room; Kakashi went through the seals and summoned Pakkun, the smoke now drawing the attention of the students.

The small pug stretched out, his nose twitching.

“ **Yo Kakashi, need me to watch the scrawny pup again?** ” Pakkun asked.

“ **Yes** **, I have something that needs to be taken care of tonight. I have located the shinobi that was at the trial and there is a minimal chance that she may come to use Potter as leverage.** ”

The pug sighed, glancing over at the wide-eyed students.

“ **Alright, I will keep him here and let you know if she turns up** ,” Pakkun said.

“ **I will treat you guys as soon as I get the chance and don’t try to convince them to touch your paws** ,” Kakashi added, before _shunshining_ out the red room.

The pug snorted indignantly before plodding over to a corner to watch the trio.

Kakashi appeared before Dumbledore-sama’s desk, standing at attention.

The headmaster looked up from his desk, scanning Kakashi behind his half-moon glasses. Placing aside the papers, he clasped his hands together in front of him, smiling reassuringly.

“Kakashi, what brings you here again?” he asked with a sharp look in his eye.

“Dumbledore-sama, I have located the kunoichi here in your academy. From the intelligence I have put together from evidence found, I do not think she is here to harm the students as she has had too many opportunities; however, she will attempt to kill me which could result in collateral damage.”

“Collateral damage?” the headmaster blurted.

Kakashi just nodded. The teacher shifted in his chair.

“Do you know how she came to be here or any specifics of her mission? Why would she want to kill you?” he asked.

“I am guessing that it was a mixture of your ‘magic’ and Genjutsu from my country. It would explain why I was unable to locate her immediately as I have not adapted to your ‘magic’ yet. I cannot accurately determine her mission, as I have not uncovered enough evidence but I have my suspicions,” Kakashi replied.

“Suspicions?” Dumbledore-sama inquired.

“I cannot say anything for sure, but I will update you when I have more information,” Kakashi nodded.

He watched Dumbledore-sama process the information, Kakashi’s mind briefly flashing back to the encounter with the kunoichi. She had dared to mention Minato-sensei, which told him which country she was from at least.

“And the blood lust she seems to have for you?”

“Our villages are enemies on our home continent but it will not be a problem. It will not interfere with my mission to protect Potter-san,” Kakashi promised.

“Alright Kakashi, I will leave this to you. Your mission is to protect Harry, with Hogwarts as a secondary objective however; may I use my influence as your client to add monitoring and containing this other ninja to your mission?” Dumbledore-sama asked.

“You are the client, Dumbledore-sama. However, according to our protocols in Konoha you should contact Hokage-sama about the specifics of the mission and if you wish to add another component, arrange it with him,” Kakashi confirmed.

Kakashi darted through the adjustments he would have to make to account for the Iwa girl. Unless informed by Sarutobi-sama, his primary objective would remain protecting Potter, which would leave him little to no time to keep a tab on her since he also had Hogwarts to patrol at night. He figured that Dumbledore-sama would not change the original mission, but would just add this problem to the growing list.

Dumbledore-sama stood as Kakashi was preparing to leave.

“Kakashi, I hired you to protect Harry, which to a lesser extent included the rest of the school. I was not made aware that your presence could increase the risk to the students rather than the opposite, and this talk earlier of collateral... you included people within its definition, not just possible damages.”

Kakashi paused.

“Death is a part of my profession. However, protecting Hogwarts is my secondary mission and I will ensure no student comes to harm,” he conceded, watching the headmaster sink back in his chair.

“Make sure you do, Kakashi. I will not have another death in Hogwarts this year.”

Kakashi gave a quick nod of his head to the headmaster, before _shunshining_ outside to the gargoyle and heading towards the tower. He had planned to grab a few hours sleep tonight since it had been a couple of days, but with the kunoichi newly discovered he could not risk it.

As he walked through the corridor with the paintings settling down to sleep, he made a mental note to find time to treat his dogs.

Kakashi had reached the stairway leading to the red room, when he heard a faint sound from above him. He side-stepped, crouching and holding out his own kunai as the kunoichi’s clanged off the stone floor.

She dropped in front of him, holding another in her right hand.

“ **So _copy-nin_ , now that we have a little privacy, care to die**?” she asked, a cruel smirk hardening her features.

Kakashi stared back; observing her movements as he rapidly assessed the situation. This was too close to the red room; he had to get to a more isolated part of the castle. He stepped back, the movement catching the kunoichi’s eye. He took another step, ensuring that her focus remained on him.

“ **Is the oh so great _Sharingan no Kakashi_ retreating? After one little kunai**?” she said, barely holding in a chuckle. “ **I expected more**.”

Kakashi barely considered her implication; pride in one’s power and skill was almost a requirement for shinobi, but it was more important to complete the mission. Which was at risk this close to the students.

He took another step, enticing her to follow. He glanced down, watching as her weight transferred to the balls of her feet. He was not totally aware of her abilities though he had a rough idea of the training of a standard Iwa shinobi from the war; from the clash earlier she did not seemed as skilled as himself but he was not willing to take the chance.

Both shinobi moved in sync, becoming blurs through the dark corridors. Kakashi could pick the exclamations from the paintings at their passing, but he doubted that any could have seen anything. As he reached a deserted part of the castle he had found on one of his patrols, he turned suddenly letting loose several of his own kunai at the kunoichi. She was forced to dodge, stopping at the other end of the wide corridor, as the kunai bounced off the stone wall behind her, barely missing a painting of a short old man.

“ **Decided to fight, then? It will make your death a bit more interesting at least** ,” she growled, crouching into a defensive position.

“ **Why are you watching Umbridge**?” Kakashi merely asked.

The kunoichi’s shoulder’s tensed. Kakashi’s mouth twitched; so that was her mission. He had had his suspicions since he had found the foreign seals around her office but now he knew for certain.

The kunoichi blurred forward, slicing her kunai across Kakashi’s own. He picked up shouts of alarms from the paintings as she continued to hunt for a weakness, the sounds of clashing metal echoing up the corridor. If this went on too long, someone would see, and it would not make his mission any easier.

Kakashi kicked the hand that held her kunai, his other leg coming around to hit her ribs. She crossed her arms, letting go of the kunai but saving her hand, and took the brunt of the kick on her forearms. She used the force from the kick to get some distance, rolling across the icy stone floor, picking up dirt as she moved, making rapid hand signs as she faced Kakashi.

“ _Doton: Ishi Yoroi no Ude!”_ she shouted. (Earth Release: Stone Bracers)

Kakashi’s eye narrowed as he shot forward, aiming a jab at her stomach. Although he was faster, the kunoichi had time to raise her arms. The stone bracers on her forearms took the brunt of the hit. The jolt to Kakashi’s arm disrupted the wound from earlier, the words leaking red into his bandage and glove.

He wrapped his other hand around the edge of her bracers, and pulled, knocking her off balance. She quickly released the jutsu, spinning into a roundhouse kick, which Kakashi knocked to the side with his forearm. Crumbling dirt fell to ground and Kakashi used the momentum from the kick to grab some and fling it into her eyes.

Strategies darted through Kakashi’s head in an instant. Should he counter with ninjutsu? Would she retaliate with a larger and louder technique, causing the resulting aftermath of a ninjutsu battle to gain the attention of the whole school? He could either stick to taijutsu or even Genjutsu, or take the chance and end this with one jutsu. _Katon_ was off the table in such an enclosed space; Chidori was far too loud. Also, he was sure that Dumbledore-sama would not approve of her death. Subduing her otherwise would likely take time. On the other hand, the Iwa kunoichi was skilled, incorporating her _Doton_ jutsu into her taijutsu; however it was becoming obvious her taijutsu was weaker than Kakashi’s.

The pair continued to trade blows, Kakashi dancing around the girl in a blur of black and silver. As he ducked below a swing and aimed for her shin, he heard the sound of footsteps bouncing towards them above the shouts of the paintings and the kunoichi’s slightly ragged breathing. He disengaged as the girl was momentarily distracted by the sound and channelled chakra to his feet, cursing silently as he sprinted up the wall. The girl hesitated, obviously torn between resuming the fight and maintaining her cover but she tore down the corridor, away from the approaching figure.

Kakashi eyed the few kunai littered about the floor, briefly listening to the step to judge the distance to the walking figure. From his fingers chakra strings dropped, latching onto the kunai and hauling them up. He grabbed them and shoved them into his pouch. He rapidly flipped through hand seals, whispering the jutsu.

“ _Meisaigakure no jutsu_.”

Below he spotted the potions sensei; mouth twisted into an unpleasant sneer and holding his stick in the air, chakra releasing light at the tip.

“Why is there an infernal racket at this hour?” he asked the paintings.

“There was a most terrible fight just now! Those rowdy hooligans were brandishing there strange daggers and were positively trying to take a chunk out of each other!” a painting explained, the old man inside almost bristling.

“A fight?” the sensei asked, “Did you see their faces?”

“They were mostly a blur, my dear boy; however one had a most absurd hair colour! Silver! The other young lass was a brunette. Really, this type of shenanigans should really be under control!” the old man shouted.

The sensei opened his mouth to speak but the painting continued.

“Then they had the gall to run, rather than take their punishment appropriately! One ran up the wall and the other down the corridor! ” he thundered.

The sensei looked thoughtful, gazing up towards the ceiling. Kakashi remained still as the teacher’s gaze passed right through him. The teacher scanned the ground, eyes resting on the disturbed mound of dust before focusing on the painting once more.

“Silver, you said?”

“Do you dare doubt me? Ask any of the others!” the painting replied. “They almost hit me with one of those weapons! Just look at the wall!”

The sensei remained silent for a moment, briefly studying the scuff mark next to the painting, before heading back the way he had come.

“Ensure that you are able to contain yourself and not tell the students. There is no reason to cause a panic,” he ordered without looking back.

Kakashi waited for a few seconds before standing, making his way silently along the wall and cancelling the jutsu. He would need to retrieve the kunai she had thrown near the entrance of the red room.


	13. Learn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Bold' = Japanese

After creeping down the stairs once Ron’s snoring had reached him, Harry split his time between watching the entrance and examining his hand. He still wasn’t sure why he had lied to his friends about his hand or why Hatake had left so suddenly. That Slytherin girl had obviously known Hatake and he had a suspicion that they shared the same line of work; but why had she attacked him?

Harry had thought that something had changed at Hogwarts; Hatake was no longer the silent shadow but a fellow student – if a still very silent and aloof. After speaking up for him against Umbridge, even going so far as to get detention, Harry thought that maybe the shinobi would be more willing to open up since they were on the same side. The clash with the girl, however, just reminded him how little he still knew about Hatake.

He turned his head slightly to eye the pug still settled in the corner closest to the painting. He glared at the tiny dog, the animal having already thwarted Harry’s attempt to leave the common room. That was another mystery. The dog wore a strange waistcoat kind of thing, with a weird spiral, almost leaf-like symbol on the back. Wrapped around its head was a piece of cloth with a metal plate attached, the symbol matching the one Hatake wore back in Grimmauld. Excluding these, it looked like a regular pug with a dark brown snout and ears and a lighter shade for its coat. However, its eyes held some almost human in them, reminding him of an animagus; the intelligence behind its sharp gaze.

Compared to the kinds of creatures he had encountered since entering Hogwarts at eleven, the pug was muggle-like in its normality, but why did the shinobi use it? Harry struggled connecting the small animal to Hatake’s character; they just didn’t match.

Harry leapt out of the armchair as Hatake passed through the painting entrance. He looked the same as he had when he left earlier but Harry could have sworn that his clothing looked vaguely ruffled. The bandage around his right hand was now more red than white; his own hand still throbbing from the detention. He managed to convince Ron and Hermione he had scratched it on the way back from detention since they hadn’t been able to see the words through the blood.

“What happened?” Harry blurted out, freezing as Hatake’s cold glare focused on him.

The shinobi held his gaze for a moment before turning to talk with the dog. They rapidly exchanged sounds that Harry had come to associate with Hatake; he figured it was his native language. Hatake picked up the cloak from under the dog and there was a puff of smoke, the dog gone when it dissipated.

The older boy turned to Harry, cloak firm in his grip, his eye as cold and empty as ever.

“What is this?” he asked.

“It’s mine. That dog stole it off me earlier so can I get it back?” Harry explained shortly, holding his hand out.

He wanted to know what had happened after the shinobi had left but right now getting the cloak back was more important.

“That does not answer my question, Potter-san,” Hatake replied.

Harry sighed heavily.

“It’s a cloak left to me by my dad."

“It is more than that. I have been informed that this allows you to use a camouflage jutsu,” Hatake said calmly.

“By the dog? How did it find me? And I don’t even know what a jutsu is,” Harry fired back.

In answer, Hatake draped a part of the cloak over his bandaged hand watching it disappear. Shooting a glance at Harry, he folded it, tucking it under his arm.

“I will be taking this, so in future you will not be prone to wandering alone at night,” Hatake nodded to himself.

“Hey! Give that back!” Harry shouted, his eyes darting up the stairs for a moment to check no one was coming down.

“No. Now go to bed, Potter-san,” the shinobi replied.

Harry watched with wide eyes as Hatake took a scroll of parchment out his pouch, a strange design on the surface. He pressed the folded cloak against the symbol and after a brief flash of light, it disappeared. Hatake tucked the rolled up parchment back into his pouch, his eye darting back up to Harry as the student remained in place.

“You can’t do that! You can’t just ignore every single question I ask and then take my stuff!” Harry hissed, his fists clenched and shaking. “We’ll be stuck here for a year and I’m already fed up with you! Why can’t you just disappear like you did at Grimmauld? _You can’t take my cloak_ ,” he vented.

He fell silent after his outburst, shaking slightly. His hand was hurting more than ever, each pulse of pain matching the beat of his frantic heart. He couldn’t lose the cloak, not when it was his first real connection to his father. Hatake just coolly looked at him, apparently unfazed by the anger of the wizard.

“It is late, Potter-san,” Hatake simply replied, starting his way up the stairs.

“Give me my father’s cloak; you have no right to take it,” Harry hissed.

The shinobi paused halfway up the steps and looked back at him. His usually blank eye was now unreadable, a flicker of something appearing for a brief moment before the stone-eyed gaze returned.

“It is for your own protection,” Hatake said quietly as he resumed his ascent.

Rage seethed under Harry’s skin, threatening to boil over. He was already barely sleeping because of the strange nightmares each night and combining this with the pain in his hand and the isolation he had felt since he had arrived at Hogwarts, Harry was on the brink.

He started to head to his room, frustration fueling his stomps when Hatake spoke up from the stairwell.

“Pakkun found you by the sounds you made while walking and your scent, since he could not see you. A jutsu is my version of your spells,” he offered, before turning to finish climbing the stairs.

Harry stopped, staring after the dark shape as it disappeared.

* * *

The rest of the week passed quickly for Kakashi as he found a balance between his mission and his role as a student. In each of the classes he continued perfecting his imitation of their magic with chakra, although no matter how closely he followed the instructions his potions always lacked the vitality of the other students’. He figured there were some aspects of magic chakra could not imitate.

He had been waiting for the summons from Dumbledore-sama about what the painting had told Snape, but the teacher apparently remained silent. Kakashi intended to inform the headmaster once he had gathered more solid information about the situation.

Transfiguration had been one of the most taxing lessons to imitate if not overly difficult since Charms had focussed on theory for the first week. The topic had been ‘Vanishing Spells’ and the only way he could think of to accomplish this was an adapted version of an E-rank _genjutsu_. He could perform the hand seals rapidly beneath the table and hold off saying the jutsu aloud until he did the weird swishy thing with his twig. He would not be heard with all the chanting of ‘Evanesco’, and the number of jutsu going wrong should keep the attention off his desk.

“ _Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu_.”

The ornate cup in front of him disappeared, mirroring its surroundings rather than actually vanishing. However, as long as nothing touched it would be sufficient for this class. He could not hold it for long though; although he had discovered genjutsu affected these people to some degree through his usage of _henge_ at the Ministry, he would prefer to avoid using chakra in class as much as possible.

McGonagall swept past his desk, sharp eyes scanning his ‘empty’ desk and nodded her head, quickly moving to the front to help a student. He released the jutsu, noting the professor’s eyes darting to him for a moment before continuing to focus on the Gryffindor. He settled for watching Finnigan until the end of the lesson who somehow managed to set fire to every object he attempted to vanish.

By the end of the week the classes were no trouble for Kakashi, only being required to use chakra for a limited few.

Care of Magical Creatures so far was his least favourite; the little creatures they were exposed to during the lessons took a particular dislike to him. The things looked like moving bits of weeds and whenever they had a practical session, they had developed a habit of throwing tiny bits of wood at him. The other students had found it hilarious to see the normally aloof exchange student having a glaring match with a 6-inch Bowtruckle.

He also held some distaste towards the copious amounts of homework assigned to them at the end of each lesson however it was easily completed; finishing it before the others awoke with the aid of Obito’s Sharingan. His mouth had quirked up slightly at the thought of Obito’s reaction if he were to have known his eye would be used to _study_. He made some time at the end of his patrols and on the days he got some sleep he woke much earlier out of habit anyway.

He knew once this mission was over he would be required to pull together a report on this culture to add to the archives for future reference, so although he would not be sitting these ‘owls’ the teacher’s kept bringing up each lesson he still needed the information. The blank scrolls he had brought were quickly filling up.

Potter was having a lot more trouble keeping up with the work than Kakashi, the boy scrambling to throw something together at breakfast after failing to complete his work for the second day. He passed through each day in haze of exhaustion and the evening detentions were taking their toll on him. While Potter succeeded in hiding the truth from his friends, Kakashi could easily see that his wounds were only worsening each session, lacking the chance to properly heal from the one before. Though he could somewhat admire Potter for his stubbornness to remain silent during each detention.

Personally, he was only slightly hassled by the marks on his hand. He had had worse. A bandage sufficed and another scar would not make a difference, especially since he wore gloves back home, although the words she had chosen irritated him. By the third session, Potter’s blood was dripping onto the floor outside the classroom after staining the sheet he had been writing on.

It was his mission to protect Potter, not coddle him; but Kakashi had taken him aside into an empty classroom and had told him to hold out his hand. Potter had hesitated before complying as Kakashi searched his memory for the scraps of medical ninjutsu Rin had taught him. He had the chakra control for it but he had always been more focussed on combat and mastering his _ninjutsu_. While she was the official medic of the team, she had insisted that he had to at least know the most basic version of the _Shōsen jutsu_ in case she wasn’t there to help. She died a few months later.

Shoving away images of tearful brown eyes, he stilled his shaking hands and placed them over Potter’s hand. He could ignore the feeling of her blood on his hands long enough to get this done. A soft green light soon shone from his palm and Potter’s hand stopped bleeding, the skin moving to form angry red lines. He took his hand away and wrapped a clean bandage around his own, now in the habit of taking one to each detention.

“Why did you...?” Potter piped up as they continued on their way to the common room.

Kakashi remained quiet for a moment before answering.

“This form of punishment is closer to a form of torture than it is a tool to discipline students and I saw no reason to let you bleed all over the academy,” he explained.

He glanced back to see Potter turning something over in his head.

“It will not be a common occurrence; I am not here to fix your injuries. After this week is over, ensure you do not land yourself in detention again,” he added curtly, heading straight to the bathroom to wash his hands when they reached the common room.

If he had smirked underneath his mask at the irritated expression displayed across her ugly features the next evening at the sight of Potter’s almost healed hand, no one had to know.

They had walked the rest of the way in silence, Kakashi alert in case the kunoichi decided to spring a surprise attack. After the first night, she had been keeping her distance though he could feel her burning gaze from the green-tied table each mealtime. They had no classes together but even while forced into the same space during the detentions in the evenings, she had not spoken to him nor engaged him again.

He could tell her hatred had not lessened but she was obviously under instructions to leave him alone. It did not mean he would let his guard down around her and he had had a productive couple of days since their first meeting, finding out what he could about her.

Ishihara. Fourth year Slytherin. Kept to herself and tended to blend into the background, meaning he could not find out her first name. Not a new student but when asked about previous years they could not seem to recall anything. It was worth the endless questions from the third year Slytherin pair he had spoken to. Kakashi theorised she was employing some kind of genjutsu which drew attention away from her, probably with the help of those who placed her within this academy. Most likely applied to an object on her person much like his necklace.

He was no closer to figuring out her client but it was a start. The mission must have been vital to Iwa if she was willing to keep her distance from him, as her attitude matched her fellow shinobi that he had met since the war ended. The only thing more important to an Iwa nin than revenge on a Konoha nin was Iwa and the Tsuchikage himself. She had no qualms however conveying her disgust silently.

Weasley and the others had asked about her but Kakashi had just waved it off, coming up with the excuse that he had insulted her the first day. Potter had just narrowed his eyes at him no doubt still thinking of his cloak.

Kakashi had not figured out how it worked yet but he was reluctant to summon the cloak from the scroll to take a closer look. He knew what it meant to cherish treasures left by his parents and despite knowing it was for the good of the mission, Kakashi could not quite stomp out the flicker of guilt that lingered in his thoughts.

He had pieced together Potter’s circumstances from conversations held at Grimmauld was part of the reason he had earned the name ‘The Boy Who Lived’. Part of him could not help but wonder if Potter was comfortable with being reminded of his family’s slaughter every time he heard the moniker.

* * *

It was Friday night, and there was a huge commotion in the common room once Potter and Kakashi had arrived after the final detention.

“Harry, I did it, I’m a Keeper!” shouted Ron as he spotted the pair of them.

As Harry went to talk to his friend Kakashi stood back watching the clamour. He vaguely remembered the pair talking about this ‘keeper’ thing earlier in the week at dinner, but he had not really been listening. He was not entirely sure what a ‘keeper’ was having been concentrating on other things. Apparently, attaining the position was a cause for celebration if the drinks and bustle were anything to go by.

He was spotted by one of the twins and the pair left the main group to stand either side of the shinobi.

“Kakashi, my lovely lad, did’ya hear the news? Our little Ronnikin’s ready to come play with the big boys,” the taller one cheered, while the other pressed a cup of... something into Kakashi’s hands.

“Drink up, this is a party you know,” he grinned.

Kakashi just looked at the drink before looking back at the twins, stepping out from between them.

“What is this?” he asked, cautiously gripping the drink.

“Butterbeer! Don’t they have that where you’re from?” Fred asked, matching his brother’s mock horror expression.

Kakashi stared at them in silence before deciding it was not worth it and he made his way to the fireplace, perching on a seat as he savoured the quietest part of the room. He sniffed the liquid in the cup and detected an overly sweet scent. Placing it on a table with a slight grimace he surveyed the room, keeping tabs on Potter.

“They are too into their sports, I find.”

Kakashi turned to face Granger. She was sitting on one of the armchair cradling a half empty cup in her hands. She had not really spoken to him during the week, but then they had been that busy there was rarely an opportunity. He knew the Weasley boy was still wary of him but he was not quite sure about her.

“Sports? Like races?” he replied.

Sports were mainly activities for civilians, barring the odd race or two, since shinobi lived active lives anyway. Gai sometimes liked to do sport-like events as part of his challenges but Kakashi did not really care enough about them to want to know more. If he really had to think of something similar to what she was describing the chunin and jounin exams came to mind, but he remained silent.

“Quidditch,” she said in way of an explanation. When Kakashi failed to acknowledge her, she elaborated.

“It’s a sport wizards play on brooms. The aim of the game is to score as many points as possible by putting balls through the other team’s hoops. Do you have any games like that at home?”

“No, not that I know of,” Kakashi admitted.

“It’s the main sport in the wizarding community. Muggles have other types of games too. What kind of sports do you have?” she questioned, leaning forwards slightly.

He eyed her. She was obviously looking for more information about his background but there was no real danger in talking about this topic with her. She already knew he was a shinobi; as long as he did not mention anything regarding the village or his history it should be fine. There was no one close enough to overhear with the level of noise the others were making.

And... her eyes.

He’d never noticed before, never looked at them closely enough. At the Order’s headquarters he avoided all of them; they left him alone and he repaid the favour. Right now was probably the first chance he had had to talk to Granger face-to-face.

Her eyes reminded him of someone.

“Sports and such are more of a civilian thing,” he shrugged, adjusting his scarf slightly.

Granger frowned.

“Civilians?”

“Those who do not share my profession,” he elaborated, watching her reaction.

Her frown deepened; it was written across her face she was thinking about that first meeting at the headquarters. What conclusions that had drawn up about his profession. He had never bothered to tell them they were only partly right when they described him as an assassin and mercenary.

“Profession as... a shinobi?” she said slowly.

He just looked at her but he could tell that she had picked up on the proverbial eyebrow raise. He turned away to watch the twins and their friend attempt to juggle empty bottles.

“Look, I know you’re not going to tell me anything and I haven’t found anything in the library yet, it’s just using the word ‘civilians’. You make it sound like you’re a soldier or...” she trailed off as Kakashi remained unmoving.

“Wait, when Moody first told the Order about you he said a list of things that you were. Soldier was in there. You’re in the military?” she concluded, looking wide eyed at Kakashi.

He was slightly impressed that she managed to remember that far back and was able to use that information to draw accurate deductions. He did not give anything away though, keeping his eye blank and his posture casual.

“But the age line that the twins used, you can’t be older than them so how...?” she muttered, talking to herself more than Kakashi at this point.

“Do not concern yourself with my age nor my occupation, although I suppose telling you this is futile. You seem to be coming to your own conclusions without my input,” he said, jolting her out of her line of thinking.

“So the people you’ve... were they-” she stammered, cutting off as Kakashi abruptly stood and strode towards the stairs, the end of his scarf trailing through the air behind him.

He could hear Potter cross over to her but blocked it out, climbing the stairs two at a time and reaching the bathroom. Locking the door behind him he leaned against it, trying to control the shaking in his hands and his breath coming in gasps.

Her eyes.

Her brown eyes that looked at him with so many questions, trying to understand him, trying to sate the curious nature that demanded to know. Eyes that held intelligence and kindness in equal measure.

Rin.

Back when his team was first formed, Rin had the same eyes.

But she wasn’t Rin. Rin was gone.

Because of him. Because he broke his promise. Because he killed her.

He crossed over to the sink as he washed his hands, the stain of her blood staying with him, the beat of her weakening heartbeat pulsing through his hand. He tore the bandage off his hand and the words cut into his skin began to weep, mixing blood with the water. It only made him scrub harder, trying to wash Rin’s blood from him.

He felt dampness around Obito’s Sharingan and he shoved the fabric up, trying to control his breathing, and looked up into the deep red iris, watching the tears fall.

* * *

_Ishida Rinri hid her white-knuckled hands beneath the table, food forgotten as she glared at the silver head two tables over. The Konoha scum was sitting quietly beside the Potter kid, taunting her as he nodded to whatever the porky kid in front of him said._

_At the hearing in the Ministry, she hadn’t been able to tell who it was nor their village; only that another shinobi had been present. However, when she had heard his name at the feast it had taken all of her training not to take out the bastard right then and there. She had attracted a few looks from her classmates at the speed her head had snapped to look at the scum, before she had managed to act calm enough they lost interest. Rage still flickered beneath her skin and simmered through the night and the next day._

_She had managed to get detention with the target although it hadn’t exactly been difficult. However, when she had seen the scum walk into the classroom she tried to convey as much of the loathing she felt for him through her glare, mindful of the target hovering at the front of the classroom. Rinri had watched as the scum had strolled in and sat beside her, as if she were just a regular student. When his eye had met hers, she had stifled the killing intent that had tried to leak out as she saw a flicker of recognition in his eye before it steeled over._

_The rest of the detention crawled by, Rinri’s attention split between the shinobi beside her and Umbridge. Her initial intention with landing in detention had been so she could observe the target in a more private session; to optimise her intel gathering in the future. The scum beside that derailed those plans as she struggled to focus on her original goal, barely noticing the scratches forming on her hand. She lifted her head to look at the target at the sound of a dainty cough._

_“I think that will be all for today. I hope you have started to accept the flaws in your behaviours so that in the future, you are able to be the bright and behaved students that I know you can be,” Umbridge said._

_Rinri rolled her eyes as she turned away, exiting the room with the two boys. Waiting until they were a safe distance away from the classroom she slipped the kunai secured in her sleeve into her hand and struck, aiming for his jugular. The scum countered her; the pair locked in a stand still._

_As she revealed she knew exactly who was, she felt irritation mix with the already present rage. He just stared back at her with the blank, grey eye. No matter what she said to him he always answered with a measured response._

_She tried once more to slice his neck but he countered every blow with apparent ease, making sure to keep his body between her and the Potter boy. She darted her eyes to their bleeding hands._

_“ **We both know that a fight between us would attract the attention of every teacher, which would not only compromise my cover but yours**. **Revenge against a Konoha nin or the completion of your mission? Which one?** ” he said evenly._

_She tightened her grip on her kunai. She couldn’t afford to screw up this mission; the mission pay would go such a long way in helping her village recover from the war. She wasn’t even supposed to be on the mission since her employers had asked for one of Iwa’s best. Rinri was just a chunin, but Tsuchikage-sama couldn’t afford to send any of the jounin. So here she was._

_She growled at the Konoha scum before jumping back, hiding her kunai back in her sleeve._

_“ **You will not leave this school alive, Sharingan no Kakashi** ,” she warned, turning and stalking towards the dungeons._

_Everyone was in bed at this time of night as Rinri silently made her way to her bed. As she took out and put her bag with her kunoichi uniform and spare weapons and placed it on her bed, she opened it and spotted her hitae-ate, the surface dulled for stealth. She paused before reaching and pulling out her uniform. Dressed in a red one-sleeved shirt and red trousers, she secured the deep red sash which hung around her right leg and checked her bun was secure._

_Monitoring the sounds of her sleeping dorm mates, she crept back out the room. Making her way to the Gryffindor common room she attached herself to the ceiling, waiting for the return of the copy-nin. The mission was the top priority, but as a kunoichi of Iwagakure she couldn’t let someone on the Kiiroi Senkō’s team roam freely._

_After the initial attack, the scum retreated causing her to chuckle. After all the hype about the infamous Sharingan no Kakashi, she was expecting more. She followed him through the empty hallways. Rinri knew he was slightly faster than her from earlier but she had a few tricks up her sleeve._

_Suddenly the Konoha scum finally started fighting back, releasing a volley of kunai in her direction. She dodged, stopping a short distance from him. As he asked about her mission, her shoulders tensed. She hadn’t expected him to know what she was doing here. Although it wouldn’t matter once he was dead._

_Blurring forward she engaged him, crossing her arms as he levelled a kick at her. Using the force from the kick she rapidly performed hand seals, bringing her now fortified hand up to block the scum’s jab. She released the jutsu as he used the edge of the bracers to fling her across the corridor. Annoyance coloured her features as he used the remains of her own jutsu to distract her. They reengaged with taijutsu; it was becoming obvious that she couldn’t beat him hand to hand. Anger fuelled her movements and her breath became ragged; the scum was barely breathing any harder than earlier and there was no way to stop the wave of frustration that rolled over her._

_She hesitated in her next blow as she heard footsteps coming towards them. It gave the copy-nin time to run up the wall, out of sight. Rinri stood frozen for a moment, caught between chasing after him and protecting her cover. An image of Tsuchikage-sama stressing the importance of the mission flashed in her mind and she turned back up the corridor, heading straight for the dungeons._

* * *

Looking down at her mission report, Rinri stared at the collection of Hatake sketches; each depicted a different method of his death by her hand. Rants and curses were sprawled across the page, bordering the gruesome doodles and she was almost surprised at herself at how creative she could get with her insults. Groaning, she crumpled the paper launching it towards the pile of crumpled papers starting to pile up. She grabbed a fresh sheet, trying to put the Konoha scum out of her mind.

Once the finalised report had been sent, she collected the pile of failed reports and threw them one by one into the main fireplace, the common room empty around her. She watched each sheet blacken and disintegrate, wishing vehemently that she could do the same to the real thing. 

The day after her encounter with the scum, she was contacted by employers and was informed that under no circumstances was she to engage the _copy-nin_ again. Rinri was still trying to figure out how they could have found out so quickly but nonetheless the order grated on her nerves. She couldn’t blow this mission so she had to listen. It didn’t make the detentions any easier.

She had managed to keep her thoughts to herself around her classmates. She was just Ishihara Rin here, a fourth year Slytherin who was a bit quiet and kept to herself. Her mouth had quirked up at the thought of her friends back home and their inevitable shock at her composure.

Rinri was well known among her fellow shinobi as someone who acted first, thought about it later. One of their favourite things to pick on was that she was the opposite of her name; the kanji in ‘Rinri’ combined could be read as ‘cold logic’ or ‘dignified reason’. When they had heard she was the one chosen for an infiltration mission of this length, they had done little but tell her over and over not to lose her temper while undercover. Much to her constant annoyance. It had only gotten worse when she used a _doton_ _jutsu_ to try and shut them up.

However, Rinri had gone through the whole week without trying to end the _copy-nin_ ; something she doubted her friends would’ve been able to do. Part of her wanted her friends to see her now, to try and tease her for her name now. What could be more like ‘cold reasoning’ than placing the mission above the death of one the most hated shinobi Iwa had in the bingo book?

However, the orders from her employers didn’t stop her from trying to burn a hole through him with her glare each mealtime; and if she released her anger in the security of the Forbidden Forest, decimating a clearing, who was anyone to know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu – Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings  
> Shōsen jutsu - Mystical Palm Technique


	14. Bare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Bold' = Japanese

Harry crept down into the common room with Ron yawning behind him. Hermione wanted to talk to them about something she had found out about Hatake and he’d agreed it’d be a good idea to pool what they had gathered about the stoic shinobi so far. The early hours of the morning were the perfect time, as Hakate was off doing Merlin knows what.

It wasn’t like Harry had been sleeping anyway. Strange nightmares continued to plague him, much like they had at Grimmauld. He spotted the brunette by the fire place and crossed over to sit beside her, Ron slumping into the armchair nearby.

“Do we really have to do this tonight? We got Quidditch tomorrow,” Ron whined.

“Yes, it had to be now. You would find an excuse no matter what night it was so we might as well get it over with,” Hermione replied.

“Alright, so who wants to go first?” she continued, looking between the pair.

“There’s another one in the castle. She was a Slytherin in detention with us this week, but the first day she attacked Hatake with the same kind of knives that he has,” Harry said, watching the other two jolt in their seats.

“Bloody hell, another one?” Ron frowned.

“She attacked him?” Hermione repeated. “Wait, the first day? Why didn’t you tell us then?”

“It’s been a long week,” Harry said weakly, avoiding the piercing gazes of his friends. “Anyway, they were talking in that weird language Hatake uses when the dog is around so I didn’t understand anything, but she was definitely angry with him. After we got back from that detention, he left again and the dog watched me from the corner. The same night Hatake stole my cloak.”

“The invisibility cloak? He’s got it?” Ron burst out. “He can’t just take your dad’s cloak.”

“Yeah, probably to make sure I don’t go ‘wandering off’,” Harry scoffed. “He put it in a piece of parchment, though I have no idea how, then the dog disappeared in a puff of smoke.”

Hermione was silent for a moment with a thoughtful look across her features.

“On the dog’s back, there was a strange symbol that I swear I’ve seen somewhere before,” Harry continued. “He also said that he uses ‘jutsus’ instead of magic.”

He looked towards Hermione, hoping she could make something out of what he had discovered.

“Can you draw the symbol?” she finally asked, pushing a piece of parchment at him.

Harry nodded and drew out the strange leafy thing before hesitating. He then pulled down the collar of his shirt, exposing the mark Hatake had put on his shoulder.

“He put this on me this week too, saying it would help with poisons or something,” he said, shrinking back slightly as Hermione loomed over him.

She copied it down onto the parchment, muttering under her breath slightly.

“You know what I’ve noticed?” Ron piped up, gaining a look from the other two. “He always gets his homework done,” he stated, earning a glare from Hermione.

“Wait ‘Mione, think about it. He and Harry both are at detention until late at night and Harry either does it at breakfast or walks around like an inferi from finishing it at night. Hatake does neither,” he explained.

“ _Inferus_ , Ron. Inferi is plural--,” Hermione cut in.

“So when does he do it?” Ron continued, as if the brunette had not spoken.

“‘ _How_ ’ is another question,” Hermione pointed out. “He hasn’t been exposed to magic before, judging by his knowledge of Quidditch and the fact he’s a muggle, so how does he know the material? How could he learn it all in such a short space of time?”

“Well, I’ve never seen him sleep,” Harry said. “But he has to at some point.”

“Have you seen what he eats? Rice and stuff, and not a lot of it, but I’ve never seen his mask move once,” Ron contributed.

“Earlier, I found out that Hatake is in the military,” Hermione said, after a moment of scribbling on parchment. The boys’ heads snapped to her, loud shouts of ‘what’ echoing in the empty common room.

“I reckoned he was an assassin or something!”

After shushing them, she continued.

“It wasn’t so much that I found out, just put some pieces together,” she started.

“We were talking about Quidditch and what kinds of sports he had back home, but he said that sports were generally for ‘civilians’. The word choice bothered me and I remembered something Moody said back when Hatake first arrived. Shinobi are soldiers of war.”

The two boys fell silent, before Ron spoke up.

“That age line Fred and George did at Grimmauld... Hatake can’t be much older than them.”

The trio fell silent for a few moments, mulling over what they had shared. Hermione gathered up the parchment with the symbol before turning to the boys.

“I’ll look up what I can this weekend since we’ve probably got enough to make some headway. For now we should go to bed.”

The pair nodded and they each headed up to their respective dorms.

* * *

Kakashi spent the weekend split between avoiding Granger, finishing his homework and keeping watch over Potter and the castle. After wasting most of Saturday outside watching this ‘Quidditch practice’ thing, the rest of the day was whiled away in the library by both himself and the trio. Kakashi made sure to sit at a desk just out of their sight.

The trio had obviously shared what they knew with each other as Granger read through some books on foreign types of magic, while the other two just tried to finish what they had been putting off all weekend.

He himself had squared away his work yesterday and had finally found the time to go through material that was not on the curriculum. The books he had chosen were mainly focused history, specifically warfare and politics, as he filled another scroll to be sent back to Konoha. Although he had been hired by the wizards, his village had seen the opportunity to gather information about their culture and traditions, which would be analysed and stored by the Intelligence division as a precautionary measure.

Gathering the half dozen scrolls sprawled across the desk, he put them in his pouch before heading to the history section to place the books back. Quickly sensing the absence of students for the moment, he formed a _kage bunshin_ and _henged_ into a young blue-tied student he knew the trio would not recognise.

As the _bunshin_ turned to pull out more books to take back to the desk, Kakashi headed out the library, aiming straight for the front door. Walking briskly through the castle after dropping his disguise, he ignored the stares of the students he passed as he went to the tower to pack away his scrolls and pick up a small brown bag from his duffel.

A week into the school year, he would have thought the novelty would have worn off; but as he walked past a hushed huddle of yellow-covered students, he shrugged off their curious gazes. Heading out the front door, he started for the edge of the forest he had seen during his patrols, adjusting his scarf along the way. Eventually reaching the edge which was devoid of students, he expanded his senses, satisfied no one would wander his way for now.

Rapidly running through the hand seals, he was surrounded by eight puffs of smoke. As the smoke cleared, Kakashi had only a second to spot the bundles of fur before he was buried beneath the ninken. As he sat back up the tension left his body, the young shinobi coming as close to relaxed as he could ever be outside the village.

Reaching into the small brown bag, he proceeded to throw a treat to each dog and settled with his back against a tree trunk. Breathing in the clear forest air, he was taken back to his home for a brief moment; the scent of trees always on the air even in the centre of the village. He heard the patter of paws and looked down to see Pakkun sat beside him.

“ **How’s it going?** ” the pug asked, settling into a comfortable position.

“ **Potter and the academy are both safe, and I am gathering information on Ishihara** ,” Kakashi replied monotonously.

“ **You know that’s not what I’m asking**.”

Kakashi remained silent, watching each of his dogs finish up their treats.

“ **Do you want to feel my paws?** ” Pakkun said, holding out one paw.

The teen was not going to admit anything. Kakashi had always struggled with his emotions; partly due to losing everyone who could have helped him and also due to being trained from the age of four for the shinobi life, being taught to suppress it all.

Pakkun had been the first nin dog, he grew up with Kakashi. He knew more than anyone what the silver-haired teen had lived through. He understood.

His team had helped but he lost them. Even after losing his teammates, Minato-sensei and Kushna-nee had kept him from completely withdrawing from life around the village.

It had been almost a year since he lost them and Pakkun knew his summoner was struggling, even though he never showed anything but a bland exterior. All Pakkun could do was be there and help in any way he could and that meant more to Kakashi than the pug ever knew.

Kakashi’s mouth quirked up at the edge, invisible beneath the mask.

“ **Thanks, Pakkun** ,” he said, his hands remaining in his lap.

A comfortable quiet settled over the group, each for the dogs finishing their treat and crowding around their summoner, finding a spot they could lie down.

Kakashi knew he could not stay out here forever, that he’d have to return for dinner, that the _kage bunshin_ would run out of chakra in a few hours. For now though, for the first time since he had been assigned his mission and arrived in this strange country, he felt comfortable. It was like he was sitting in one of the training grounds back in Konoha, surrounded by nothing but his dogs, the faint rustling of foliage and the taste of nature on the soft breeze.

* * *

Sunday morning saw the group of Gryffindors sliding into their benches, chattering away. Kakashi noted that Potter was more cheerful than usual, after his visit to the Owlery the night before. He suspected it had something to do with the girl he had run into, even if Filch had appeared.

“Why’re you looking so happy this early?” Ron inquired, surprised at his friend’s demeanour.

“Umm, Quidditch...yeah, practice later,” Harry chirped, pulling some food towards him.

Kakashi raised a single brow and decided to leave it. Potter’s personal life did not matter to him. He tuned out for a moment, locating Ishihara and satisfied she was staying on her table. He then put some eggs and rice on his plate and silently mourned the lack of chopsticks, before grabbing a spoon.

As the post arrived, he inhaled his breakfast, mask back in placed before the newspaper had even hit the table. Granger paid the owl with one of their strange coins and it flew off.

“Anything interesting?” asked Weasley, the words garbled around his mouthful of meat.

“Honestly, Ron, swallow before speaking,” scolded Granger before continuing. “Just some guff about the Weird Sisters...”

She trailed off and Kakashi only had a second to consider what the hell a ‘weird sister’ was before Granger spoke again.

“Sirius!”

“What happened?” demanded Potter immediately, snatching the paper so violently it tore down the centre.

“ _The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer...blah blah blah...is currently hiding in London!_ ” Herminone read out.

An image of a shaggy-haired, dog-like man shot through Kakashi’s head. Wait, mass murderer?

“Black-san is a mass murderer?” he asked, unable to imagine the man capable. He was no Demon of the Bloody Mist.

“No, he was framed,” Potter snapped, shooting him an angry look.

Kakashi accepted this in silence. Potter looked at his own half of the paper before slapping it on the table.

“Guys, look at this!”

Kakashi frown at the sheet, the foreign characters giving him nothing but a picture of a strange piece of clothing.

“Sturgis Podmore?” Weasley said slowly. “He’s one of the Ord-”

“Ron, _shh_!” Granger hissed, her head darting around.

Kakashi knew he was missing something and grabbed the paper from Potter, tapping his necklace on it. The page converted to katakana and kanji and Kakashi sped through it.

_TRESPASS AT MINISTRY_

_Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with treason and robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31 st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o’clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban._

Kakashi turned it back and put it on the table.

“Japanese,” Granger muttered beside him, having seen the page.

“It was a frame-up!” declared Ron. “The Ministry thinks he’s one of Dumbledore’s lot so – I dunno – they _lured_ him there? Maybe they even made something up!”

“Weasley-san is right,” Kakashi spoke up, attracting the stares of all three. “It’s a common tactic among corrupt councils and no one can prove them otherwise. Especially since Podmore-san has been silenced.”

The trio were silent for a moment, all with surprised looks on their faces. Kakashi had not spoken since Friday, when the two had found out he had taken Potter’s cloak. Kakashi was fine with this, remaining a silent presence until now.

Granger shot an impressed look at Ron and folded up her newspaper.

“Well, I think we should focus on that essay for Sprout...”

Kakashi tuned out of the resulting complaints as he turned over the article in his head. The Ministry was obviously hiding something but there was not much he could do about it here. That was not his mission; Potter and Hogwarts were, now with the additional concern of Ishihara.

Kakashi sighed internally as he stood from the table, resigned to watching even more pointless sport. Maybe he could get that essay done while he was there.

The next morning when the newspaper came, it caused horror to wash over the Gryffindor table. Kakashi scribbled down the characters of the title onto a napkin and translated it, his face twisting beneath his mask as he read the words.

MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM

DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR

He listened to Granger as she read the rest of the article out loud, outrage lining her voice as she reached the end. Potter and Granger exchanged horrified looks, but Kakashi was intrigued by Weasley’s grin.

“I can’t wait for McGonagall to get inspected,” Weasley said happily. “Umbridge won’t know what hit her.”

Kakashi had only met the woman once but he found himself silently agreeing with the redhead.

There was no sign of Umbridge in their history lesson nor in the potions class. As Snape handed back their moonstone essays he looked as though he was in pain as he handed back Kakashi’s.

“Your essays are the only thing keeping you from failing this class, as your potions are abysmal,” said Snape snidely.

Kakashi ignored him – he figured he needed ‘magic’ to get his potions to work and that was not an option – and looked at the ‘E’ on his paper. Idly he realised he had no idea what that meant but judging by Snape’s words it was good. He had not pinpointed why Snape disliked him so much but it was more than the fact he was in Gryffindor. No, it was because he was a shinobi. However, Kakashi was not that invested in finding out why as long as the man did not try anything. He peeked at Potter’s paper in the corner of his eyes and spotted the ‘D’ before it was hidden from sight.

Today’s potion was a ‘strengthening solution’ and Kakashi got the same result as every time he tried to make a potion; he did everything correctly, but his was just lacking something the others had. He noted that Potter had done better this week though.

Kakashi trailed behind the trio as they made their way to lunch, Granger trying to cheer up the boys about their grades. Sitting down on the benches, Granger was still talking.

“I mean, I would have been thrilled if I’d gotten an ‘O’-”

“Hermione, if you want to know ours just ask,” Weasley interrupted sharply.

“Well, I...I didn’t mean...but if-”

“A bloody ‘P’, alright? I got a ‘P’,” Weasley grumbled, ladling some soup.

“Well, that not bad Ron,” interjected Fred, sitting alongside Potter with his twin and another Gryffindor. Kakashi remembered his name as Jordan.

“Yeah, it stands for ‘Poor’ but better than ‘D’ for ‘Dreadful’ right?” Jordan said.

Kakashi looked at Potter as he faked a coughing fit, obviously trying to hide that he received that. His head snapped to one of the twins as his name was said.

“Kakashi, how’d you do?” George asked, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

Suppressing the surprise that he was included, Kakashi answered.

“’E’.”

Fred whistled.

“Damn, getting that in Snape’s class is a miracle,” he said.

“So ‘O’ is the best, for ‘Outstanding’, but what’s ‘E’?” Granger asked, frowning.

“’E’ is the next one for ‘Exceeding Expectations’, Fred answered. “George and I should have gotten all ‘E’’s for our exams since we exceeded expectations by showing up.”

Granger ploughed on as they all laughed, barring Kakashi who just listened quietly.

“After ‘E’ it’s ‘A’ for ‘Acceptable’, then? And that’s the last pass grade?”

“Yep, then ‘P’ for ‘Poor’ then ‘D’ for ‘Dreadful’,” Weasley grumbled, pumping his fist weakly at the word ‘poor’.

“And ‘T’,” reminded George. “For ‘Troll’.”

Kakashi could tell he was being serious but how a student could do that badly was beyond him. It appeared though that his essay was good then after all. He would not be sitting the exams at the end of the year since he would not need them, but Kakashi was still required to complete assignments and coursework as part of the ‘exchange program’.

The rest continued talking but Kakashi suddenly felt the now familiar glare directed at his back. Turning slightly he spotted Ishihara entering the hall, her hate-filled eyes sticking to him even as she sat. Kakashi turned back to the table, still aware of her and noticed that Potter had caught the exchange.

As lunch finished up, George spoke to Potter.

“Keep your temper, eh? Angelina’ll do her nut if you miss anymore practice,” he said, patting the younger boy on the shoulder.

They arrived in their next class, Divination, and Kakashi sat, pulling out his blank dream diary. This was his least favourite class but Care of Magical Creatures and DADA weren’t far behind. Honestly, Kakashi had thought that he had left all this behind when he graduated the academy ten years ago. To be thrust into classes again was grating on him more that he liked to admit, even to himself. He had not liked the academy when he was four, he did not like it now. It was for the mission though so he would do the work.

But it was hard to dream when he barely slept long enough to function.

He looked up as Umbridge entered the classroom from the trapdoor, his surveillance seal still on the wood, unseen. He had not picked up anything useful from the Divination sensei yet, but he would rather be prepared than surprised so it would stay there for the rest of the month at least.

After announcing herself to Trelawney, Umbridge came over to their table and Potter bristled.

“Mr. Hatake, I have brought up your issues with the uniform with the Foreign Office of the Ministry and they have agreed that for you to fully embrace your time here you must follow _all_ of Hogwarts rules. Including uniform,” she announced, beady eyes glowing in triumph.

“Now,” she continued. “You are excused for this lesson to go and correct your uniform in time for my lesson.”

Kakashi just sat for a moment before shoving his diary into his bag. He could not disobey her; he couldn’t risk it. He had not meant be under so much scrutiny and his mismatched uniform had served a purpose. Umbridge was the only one of the entire staff to have a problem with it. But he could detect a threat anywhere and hers was blatant; he had limited power here.

He was halfway to the trapdoor before he stopped, realisation striking him.

His mask. He would have to take his mask off. These _wizards_ would see his face.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Hatake?” Umbridge asked sweetly.

Kakashi shook his head and made his way down the ladder.

No one knew what his face looked like; every single person who had seen it had died. He’d rarely ever taken it off after his father had gifted it to him upon his acceptance to the academy. Now this whole academy was going to see it, see his face.

He could picture Rin and Obito’s faces the first time they had seen his face, remembered their words, their friendly teasing. How would people react here? Would they react the same?

He’d never taken it off for a mission or in the village but now he had to, unless he wanted to risk his ability to complete his mission further. Kakashi thoughts were jumbled and disjointed as he made his way to the Gryffindor tower.

* * *

As Harry sat in the DADA classroom, dully wondering if there were enough chapters to bore them until the exams, he heard the door open and joined his classmates in looking back.

He watched in shock as a Gryffindor student walked in and sat. Harry recognised the spiky silver hair and eye-patch, but the rest was foreign to him. Proper shoes, full-length robe, no scarf, no _mask_. Hatake took out his textbook and stared down at his desk, almost as if refusing to lift his head.

His face was...normal. Strong jaw-line, thin lips, slightly pointed nose. Both his face and neck were pale and his uniform hung slightly loose on him. The first word to appear in Harry’s head was ‘young’. A lot younger than he had thought. Younger than the twins even. The second thing that Harry noticed was the scar descending from below the eye-patch, a straight line reaching his mouth. There was a small mole beneath the left side of his lower lip..

Despite his curiosity finally being satisfied about what was under the mask, Harry couldn’t help but think the shinobi almost looked...naked. He was also showing the first emotion that Harry could clearly identify since meeting him over a month ago.

Discomfort.

Hatake was obviously uncomfortable dressed like this and it was bad enough that the normally stoic shinobi couldn’t hide it. Harry felt bad for him, something he wouldn’t have ever thought he could feel for the emotionless shinobi. A part of Harry reached out to Hatake, taking on the discomfort as his own.

Umbridge at the front of the class was beaming.

“Well now Mr. Hatake, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?” she said, staring at the boy. She glanced disapprovingly at the eye-patch but didn’t mention it.

“No, Umbridge,” Hatake replied, his usual monotone unfaltering.

“That’s Professor Umbridge,” she corrected, a sharp edge creeping into her voice.

Harry got the feeling Hatake was lying but his face had smoothed out, as blank as his mask. Attention shifted from the shinobi as Hermione debated with Umbridge about jinxes, ending up in docked points.

Anger burned in Harry’s stomach as he was assigned more detention for sticking up for Hermione and talking about Lord Voldemort. It was true though. The image of the purple turban unwrapping to reveal the Dark Lord would never leave him and he wasn’t about to sit by and let anyone vouch for the twisted professor.

Silence settled over the classes for only a minute before a voice spoke.

“Fuck you.”

The whole class as one snapped their heads to the silver-haired boy, still sitting with a blank expression on his face.

“ _Excuse me_?” Umbridge squawked.

“I’m not sure if that’s the correct phrase but I wanted to gain your attention,” Hatake answered innocently.

Harry would bet his broom that it wasn’t a translation error, but intentional.

“Did I say something wrong?” Hatake continued. “I have just been told that it gains people’s attention. It worked?”

Umbridge blustered for a bit, opening and closing her mouth much a like a fish. The class just remained silent, unsure of what to do, before giggles broke out through the room, quickly stifled under Umbridge’s glare.

“Well, Mr. Hatake,” Umbridge finally said. “I think detention would be the best way for you to focus on learning our language properly.”

Hatake nodded and went back to his textbook.

After processing what happened, the class settled down again, occasional glances thrown back at the foreign student but smiles everywhere. It was only at the end of the lesson that it occurred to Harry that Hatake hadn’t said why he wanted Umbridge’s attention.

* * *

The next morning, Angelina’s shouting attracted McGonagall to the table.

“But Professor, he’s gone and landed himself in detention again!”

McGonagall’s sharp gaze went immediately to Harry, who tried to make himself smaller.

“Even after my warning last week, you did exactly the same thing again? I take it you mentioned the Dark Lord?” she demanded, lowering her voice.

“Yes,” Harry meekly replied.

McGonagall caught movement beside him and watched the shinobi turn towards her. She was taken aback by his youthful face on full display but a suspicion entered her mind.

“Mr. Hatake, are you in detention too?”

“Yes, McGonagall-san,” he replied, looking nonchalant about the whole thing.

Even without his mask she couldn’t read him.

“And what did you do to land a second Gryffindor student in detention, second week in a row?” she asked exasperatedly.

She raised a brow as she noticed the other fifth year students trying to stifle their giggles.

“I told her ‘fuck you’,” Hatake answered, resulting in the twins a little ways down the bench breaking into howling laughter.

McGonagall had been teaching at Hogwarts for thirty-nine years and nothing surprised her, taking everything in her stride. However, this once, she stared open-mouthed at her newest addition for several seconds. She then closed her mouth and nodded, making her way back to the staff table after warning them about their noise levels.

She did not take any points from the silver-haired boy as she’d done with Potter. In fact, she was really starting to think the young man belonged in Gryffindor.


	15. Exchange

When Rinri walked into the Great Hall for breakfast on Tuesday, she was fully expecting to spend it how she always did; glare at the scum, imagine his gruesome death, eat food and be away to whatever she had for that day.

What she didn't expect was to see the bare face of the Copy-nin, surrounded by laughing students. She stared open-mouthed as she sat on the Slytherin bench mechanically, ignoring the strange looks the other students gave her.

Hatake Kakashi did not take off his mask. He was famous for his mask. He was famous in Iwa for his mask. No living person in the Elemental Nations has been recorded to ever have seen his face. Yet here she was, staring at the pale skin and the scar running down his face.

Rinri wasn't quite sure what to do with this information. It wouldn't help her in combat, nor really aid her village in any way. It was just his face. She still felt like the knowledge of his true face should be used for something.

As the older students left for classes, Rinri's stare followed before she realised the time and sped out of the hall, heading straight for the common room. She had Grubbly-Plank first, but she could afford to miss it; the creatures they were studying had taken a particular disliking to her, anyway. She had no desire to go anywhere near those Skewt things any more than she had to. Finally reaching the empty Slytherin common room, she stood next to the fireplace, scanning the room as she waited.

It was dark the majority of the time, which wasn't a surprise since it was the dungeons. Black and green was the theme, and the decorated walls were haunting in their beauty. Rinri would never admit it, but the view of the lake out the long windows always entranced her, never having seen anything like it. She wondered sometimes why the Slytherins were delegated to the dungeons. She had already seen the way the rest of the school regarded them, and she found she couldn't blame the Slytherins for their animosity against everyone but themselves.

Every so often though, just for a second, she missed her home. She missed her mother, her friends, her village. The great stone edifices that stretched to the sky and if climbed to the top, all that could be seen was open blue skies. It was harsh sometimes, being entirely surrounded by mountains, but she loved it. It was always worth the view from the top of the world.

Rinri startled slightly at the sound of crackling and silently cursed her wandering mind. She had to be better than this. Her village needed her. She turned to stare into the fire, seeing the familiar face of her employer.

"Ishida, report."

He was quite plain-faced with rough stubble and short wavy hair, his nose slightly too big for his face. He spoke in a different accent to those she attended this academy with, but his tone was sharp, commanding.

"Nothing new to report, sir, other than her new role as High Inquisitor. Umbridge still uses the quill as punishment in detention and she has begun her inspection of the Hogwarts teaching staff," she replied promptly.

The face in the fireplace contemplated this for a moment before speaking.

"Alright, continue with observation. We had seen the news so we're up-to-date on her new position. I want you to keep an eye out for anymore 'Educational Decrees', and to assess if they are fair or an abuse of power. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

The man was silent for a moment.

"You've left the other shinobi alone?" he inquired.

Rinri felt a brief flash of anger and hoped it didn't show on her face.

"Yes," she said, gritting her teeth.

The man didn't react to her anger but simply nodded as best a face in a fireplace could.

"Excellent, then continue."

He then disappeared.

Rinri let out a sigh. Her seals weren't picking up as much as she'd hoped from Umbridge's office, but she wasn't really that surprised. Iwa-nin weren't known for their fūinjutsu and she was just a chunin. She would have to start staking out the office in person.

* * *

Kakashi had thought all the intrigue and curiosity the Hogwarts students had regarding him had worn off last week. However, with the removal of his mask, it all began anew. But this time, it was different. He did not have his mask or Rin's scarf, so they could see his face. He was not used to that even in Konoha. He thought he managed to hide his discomfort well, only Potter catching it in the first DADA lesson and not a single time since.

It was midnight when Kakashi and Potter got back from detention. This was another week that Kakashi had to waste instead of spending it productively. He trusted Umbridge even less than a week ago, so he could not leave Potter to her "mercy". But that didn't mean he had to like it.

Though, Kakashi was still a little proud of how he had gotten into detention. Normally, he would never be that blatant in his attempt, but she had crossed the line where he was concerned. He didn't think she bought the language barrier excuse, but right at that moment he didn't care.

He had surprised himself; he had not thought that baring his face would unsettle him so much. Anyway, that strategy was the quickest way he could think of to end up in detention with Potter.

It had the unintended side effect, however, of causing every Gryffindor who heard about it to declare him a 'legend' and treat him as their best friend. Even Weasley and Granger stopped shooting him distrusting looks even if they were still wary.

Currently Potter was trying to hinder the bleeding with a scarf, the blood seeping through the material. His own hand was bleeding profusely too, but he had wrapped it in the bandage he kept in his pocket. Though, judging by how much of the white was now red, he might need to use a medical jutsu, if only so he did not bleed all over the castle on his patrol.

Entering the common room, he saw that Granger was ready with a bowl filled with a yellow substance that irritated Kakashi's sensitive nose.

"Here, it's strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles. It'll help," she offered, holding it out.

Potter sank his hand into it gratefully while Kakashi headed straight for the stairs. Reaching his bed, he chucked his robe on the bed, changing into his long-sleeved black shirt and black trousers with multiple pockets. He wrapped his kunai pouch tightly around his right thigh and tied on his belt, pulling on his gloves. He pulled on his mask and wrapped Rin's scarf around his neck, breathing in the familiar material. Although he had been pressured to take off his mask, Kakashi only did so for the duration of the academy's day. The moment he was released from his last classes, he pulled it on.

He traded his shoes for sandals, stocked up on weapons and closed the bed's curtains, heading back down into the common room. He grabbed some tissues from the bathroom on his way down.

Potter was silent and standing, glaring at his friends and breathing hard. The bowl was broken on the floor and the yellow stuff all over his shoes and the floor. Kakashi walked over to Potter, dodging the mess and ignoring the tense atmosphere.

"Hand," he said quietly.

"I thought you said it was a onetime thing," Potter reminded sharply.

Kakashi just look unimpressed and held out the tissues. Potter grumbled but he took the tissues and sat, clearing away the yellow muck and restarting the bleeding.

"Harry, what are you-" Granger started.

Kakashi ignored her as he concentrated on the seals, holding his glowing hands over Potter's wound. It closed up quickly and he moved onto his own, after taking his bandage off. He looked up from wrapping a fresh bandage on his hand to see the shocked looks of Weasley and Granger.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron burst out.

Kakashi just remained silent, going over to lean on one of the walls. He was healing his own anyway, no harm in helping Potter at the same time.

"It's alright, Ron; he's used it before," Potter spoke up, examining his scarred hand.

"That doesn't answer my question," the redhead retorted.

"Some kind of medical magic," Granger answered as she took Potter's hand to examine it. "That's brilliant, no wand at all. But you use 'jutsu' right?"

She looked to Kakashi at the final question, completely mispronouncing the word. He gave her no reply, but she seemed to accept it as truth anyway. A thoughtful look crossed her face as she continued to look at Kakashi. He could not quite read what she was thinking, but whatever it was, it was going to be trouble. Rin always had the same look on her face when she was cooking up some plan that would end terribly for him and Obito. They'd once spent a week trying to get yellow paint out of their hair. Kakashi turned his face to the window to look at the inky darkness beyond the glass.

"Kakashi, what would you say if we started a secret club to learn how to fight?"

"Hermione!" "'Mione!"

Kakashi looked back at the trio.

"I'd say good."

Potter and Weasley looked at him surprise.

"But wouldn't you say 'it's too dangerous' or something like that?" Potter shot out, mimicking Kakashi's voice horribly.

"If you know how to defend yourself, it makes my mission much easier than if you were a sitting duck," he shrugged. He was confident in his ability to protect Potter, but still, he would not be there forever.

Potter considered his words for a moment before nodding.

"I guess..."

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before Granger stood.

"Well, I'm off to bed," she said. "Night?"

It sounded like more of a question than a true attempt at ending the silence.

"Right, erm...coming, Harry?" Weasley added, rising to his feet.

"In a minute, guys. I need to-" Potter cut himself off, gesturing vaguely to the floor.

The other two went up the stairs as Kakashi and Potter were left in the common room. Potter took out his wand and murmured 'reparo', picking up the fixed bowl and placing it on the table.

As Kakashi made his way to the exit and Potter to the stairs, Kakashi stopped and fought with himself before speaking up.

"You shouldn't push them away. They just want to help."

Potter looked back at him surprise before scowling.

"What would you know?" he responded snidely.

Kakashi did not respond and simply left, hiding his shaking fists as he began his patrol.

* * *

Two weeks passed in a blur for Kakashi, following the same routine. Homework, class, watch over Potter wherever he was and patrol. Potter managed to avoid getting any more detentions after the second week. The boy was still having consistent nightmares and Kakashi had no choice but to leave him to it; he knew from experience that he could not help without knowing the source.

He and Ishihara had also found a way to avoid each other while still being able to keep up with their respective missions. He had figured out she was specifically observing Umbridge as if she was gathering evidence for something. He still felt her glares at mealtimes, but it did not bother him. He was prepared for another attack, but as the weeks went on, he suspected she had been told to stay away from him by whoever had hired her.

So the rest of September passed relatively peacefully and Kakashi's birthday passed quietly. He did not mention it to anyone; he was slightly absent that day, lost in his memories of the last happy birthday he had. He'd been fourteen, Kushina-nee about ready to burst with the new baby and Minato-sensei had insisted on dinner and cake. Kakashi had pretended at the time that he was not bothered; he had never really cared about his birthday. Now he spent the day alone, he would have given anything to go back to that day and smile and enjoy and treasure every single minute with them. He tried to avoid thinking about further back, refusing to dive into the memories with Obito and Rin. It hurt enough already.

October then began and the trip to Hogsmeade loomed, with the plan in place to meet up with others interested in learning practical DADA. As they all lined up in front of Filch, Kakashi ended up directly behind the trio and hid his confusion when Filch started sniffing Potter. He tugged Rin's scarf tighter around his neck; he had been told that the trip required 'casual' dress so had pulled on his grey hoodie over his patrol gear and hid his weapons. Stepping up to the man, Kakashi handed in the permission slip that had Minato-sensei's forged signature on it. He had not been warned that he would require this kind of thing and there was no way to get the signature in time from Hokage-sama. Kakashi sent his apologies to his sensei, but honestly, there was no one else he would be comfortable having as his guardian.

As the group set off on the road to the village, Kakashi listened quietly to Potter's 'dungbomb' tale. He remembered that Potter had been sending a letter to Sirius when he had encountered both the Cho girl and Filch. Looking around at the landscape, he took note of ideal ambush sites and scanned for movement.

"Hey, Hatake, who signed your permission slip?"

Kakashi snapped his head to look at Granger and noticed the other two were also looking at him. He considered his answer but decided there was no real reason to lie to them.

"I did," he shrugged.

Granger looked aghast.

"You can't have," she gasped. "They checked that it's not your signature, they wouldn't have let you come if you signed it yourself."

"It's not my signature," Kakashi replied simply.

"Then...you forged it?" Potter asked hesitantly.

Kakashi nodded and moved to continue forward, the group having stopped at Granger's question.

"Whose did you forge?" Granger blurted out, curiosity shining brightly in her eyes, drowning out the previous disapproval.

Kakashi's shoulders tensed for a moment before he sighed.

"It does not matter. You are going to be late."

Weasley looked down at his watch and reluctantly agreed with the shinobi. The four set off once more, Kakashi hanging further back than before. They passed through the village, Kakashi scanning the faces they passed, and came to a run-down building.

"I know it's a bit...dodgy, but students don't normally come here, so I figured we wouldn't be overheard," Granger said nervously, as if trying to explain the building in front of them.

They entered and Kakashi looked around, taking in the grimy surrounding and the odd goat stench. It was not the worst place he had been, but he could tell that the trio were uncomfortable.

"Are you sure about this, Hermione?" Potter muttered.

Granger gathered herself and nodded.

"I checked and rechecked the school rules and Professor Flitwick said that students are allowed here, but we should bring our own glasses."

They walked up to the bar and ordered, Kakashi narrowing his eyes at the golden liquid as he remembered the sickly sweet scent from before.

"You know, I bet we could order anything in here and get served. I've always fancied Fire Whiskey..." Weasley trailed off, staring at the bottles on the wall.

"You – are – a – prefect," hissed Granger.

Kakashi's mouth quirked up slightly at the downtrodden expression on Weasley's face. He followed the trio and took a seat, opening the bottle but refraining from drinking any of the contents.

He looked towards the door as a troop of students arrived, almost all of the faces familiar. He imprinted each face into his memory for future reference as he overheard one of the twins ordering at the bar. He was about to help Weasley gather some chairs when he spotted a cloaked figure hanging near the doorway, his face obscured.

Alarm bells rang in Kakashi's head as his whole body tensed, alert and prepared to take action. The figure left and Kakashi moved to follow before glancing back at Potter. He strode over to a dark corner and discreetly ran though the seals, summoning Pakkun and Urushi. As the student started to sit down behind them, Kakashi shot out his orders.

"Stay and watch out for Potter. Do not be seen; Pakkun, you are going to report what they say in these meetings and Urushi, you are the guard. If anything happens, protect the boy and as many as you can, understood?"

At the confirmation from the two Kakashi took off his necklace and looped around Pakkun's neck.

"This will allow you to understand them," he explained, as he turned and took off out the door.

It had only been a few seconds since the cloaked figure had been out of his sight, but Kakashi spotted him far down the street. He raced after him, barely taking notice of the people he dodged and weaved around. Coming to the road back to Hogwarts, Kakashi followed the figure into the trees. During the chase, Kakashi had transferred his weaponry into easy to reach places, prepared for battle.

Kakashi took to the trees quickly, leaping from branch to branch. The cloaked figure finally stopped in a small clearing and Kakashi remained in the trees, crouching on a branch. The figure took down his hood and looked around the clearing, obviously looking for him.

He was pale with a receding hairline, his eyes sunken and his mouth twisted. Greedy eyes darted around, searching through the trees. He shouted something and Kakashi heard his name, but the realisation that he had left his only chance at understanding with Pakkun washed over him like cold water. He watched for a moment longer as the man took out a stick and held the end to his own throat.

"Can you hear me now, Kakashi Hatake?" the man called.

Kakashi deliberated for a moment before deciding the information this man could offer was worth the risk. He had never seen this man before, but it was obvious that he wanted something—something that might give a clue to his identity. This man knew what his language was, too – a fact he should not have known unless he had encountered others like him. He rustled the orange leaves around him and showed his upper body, keeping the rest hidden. The man eyes snapped to him and his eyes grew wide.

"My Lord is very interested in you, although I have no idea why. You're just a filthy muggle, but you're also my ticket back into his good graces," the man stated, his grin wide and manic.

"Who are you?" Kakashi responded, adjusting his grip on his kunai.

"I am Avery, a follower of the Dark Lord. He has sent me to offer you an opportunity," Avery announced, his eyes never leaving Kakashi's. "Kill Albus Dumbledore and deliver Potter to us. Do this and my Lord will reward you handsomely, though you should be grateful we that we would let you go at all."

Kakashi's eye narrowed as it all fell into place. This man was one of those 'Death Eaters' that had been mentioned multiple times over the length of his mission; an agent of 'Voldemort'. The main reason he had been hired for this mission, although Kakashi had already encountered other objectives that had not been on the original mission request.

"We have worked with your kind before, and it always worked out for both sides," Avery added, his voice as smooth as slime.

Kakashi's first meeting with the Order flashed through his head, Molly's voice ringing in his ears.

" _How do we know that 'You-Know-Who' has not offered you a higher price to kill Harry?_ "

He had meant what he said, when he had told her he would not waver from his mission, that he would protect Potter to the best of his ability until the day his mission finished. By what the man had said, Voldemort did not want Potter dead—or perhaps he wished to kill the boy himself? Avery could have easily attacked Potter back at the pub, but he did not, instead wanting to speak to Kakashi alone. From what Kakashi had gathered about previous years, Voldemort was almost always present or involved in the attempts on Potter's life. Why was the boy so important?

"No," Kakashi stated firmly.

Avery's face contorted with rage. He snapped his stick out towards Kakashi, yelling something and a flash of purple fire came soaring at Kakashi. He moved to a different tree as he threw a kunai at the man's shoulder. At the last second Avery tried to move, but the kunai hit its target, hampering Avery's movement considerably. The man was fortunate that Kakashi wanted him alive and in relatively one piece.

"Dead or captured, either one would aid my Lord's cause," he snarled, throwing another purple flame as he slashed his wand away from his neck.

Kakashi jumped to the ground while avoiding another burst of fire. He sped towards the wizard dodging the next wave of flame. Avery screamed and made a different motion with his stick. Kakashi again dodged but looked back for a moment, watching the tree behind him disintegrate. Ducking beneath another attempt, he reached the wizard and punched him in the gut, causing the man to double over. Kakashi kneed him in the face. The man was knocked back onto the ground and Kakashi stepped forward, planting a foot on his neck and holding a kunai to his eye.

The man was a pitiful sight; nose bleeding, tears in his eyes, fear across his features.

"You will tell me everything you know about Voldemort," Kakashi growled.

The man began babbling and Kakashi could not keep track of the foreign words. He leaned more weight into his foot and the man stuttered into a whimper, struggling to catch a breath. He would not be getting anything out of this man; the snivelling weakling was too caught up in his own panic. He took the stick from him and snapped it, the two halves connected by a splinter, and he threw it to one side. Avery's volume rose as he watched.

Kakashi took a stasis scroll out of his trouser pocket and pressed it against the man, pushing chakra into it. As the scroll lit up, Avery's eyes widened into complete panic. He grabbed his splintered stick and pointed it at Kakashi, screaming something as he disappeared. Too close to dodge, Kakashi was hit straight on and he hit the ground, cursing that he had not thrown the stick further. He had thought simply snapping it would be enough to negate its power.

Looking back at the man, Kakashi saw he had succeeded in sealing him, but Avery's last jutsu had knocked him back a few steps and he could feel a sharp pain with every breath. Bruised ribs, he concluded from experience. Should take care of itself in a week or two. As he stood painfully he vowed to completely destroy the 'wand' of the next enemy he came across. He looked down at the singed remains of his jumper and took it off, tying it around his waist to hide the damage. Crossing over to the scroll, he grimaced as he picked it up, shoving it into the same pocket.

Kakashi made his way back to the road, opting to walk instead of taking to the trees.

So Voldemort not only knew what he was but had worked with others like him before; but to know this, he must have agents within the academy itself. Only a limited few knew about him so that narrowed down the list of suspects, but that did not sit well with him. How could he have not picked up on anything for over a month?

Reaching the road he ignored the looks of students walking along, and turned to look at the castle, seeing only fog and ruins where Hogwarts should be. Kakashi continued to stare, but the image did not change. He figured he would need the necklace to get back into the academy. He instead started back to Hogsmeade to rejoin Pakkun and Urushi. The wizard had been after him so the students should be safe and once he delivered the man to Dumbledore-sama, they could extract the necessary information from him.

Each breath caused sharp pain to echo through his chest and Kakashi knew he did not have the skill with shōsen fix it. He was definitely destroying any enemy wands in the future.

* * *

There was something off about Hatake.

Harry couldn't quite work it out but there was definitely something. He hadn't questioned the shinobi when he had walked back into the Hog's Head just as the meeting had finished. He looked exactly the same, still quiet, still aloof. He had gone over to two dogs, one that Harry was unfortunately familiar with, and had taken something from them, exchanging a few words. Honestly, Harry's thoughts had been too wrapped up with Cho to really care.

However, as the four walked back to Hogwarts and sat down for dinner, there was something that just niggled away at Harry's brain. It was like the time the Fred and George moved everything in the common room two inches to the left; doesn't sound that bad, but everything was weird all day. More than one bruise and spillage occurred as everything was not quite where it was supposed to be. It took a whole day for someone to figure out what had changed.

Harry stared across the table, watching Hatake swirl his soup.

"Where'd you go when you left the Hog's Head?" Hermione asked, startling Harry out of his stare.

His friend was looking at the shinobi too, her intelligent gaze probing. Had she noticed something off too?

"Something came up," Hatake replied.

Hermione was about to say something else, but someone walked up to their table, hovering behind Hatake.

"Mr. Hatake, I will see you in the hospital wing directly after dinner," Madame Pomfrey said, looking sternly at the man in question.

"I am fine, Pomfrey-san," Hatake said blandly.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Your wand," she demanded.

Hatake put down his spoon and reached into one of his many pockets, pulling out his wand and handing it over. Harry was kind of surprised he had it on him, considering he couldn't use it; then again, every student had their wands on them at all times. It would've been strange if Hatake didn't. Their whole table was now focused on this interaction, food momentarily forgotten.

Madame Pomfrey took the wand then dropped it on the ground behind Hatake. Harry shared a confused look with Ron beside him.

"Pick it up without leaving your seat."

Hatake stared at Madame Pomfrey for a moment and a suspicion entered Harry's mind. The shinobi twisted round and bent to pick up his wand, his movements slow and measured and careful. Harry couldn't see his face from his seat, but Madame Pomfrey could. She seemed to find confirmation for what she was looking for.

"Point taken, Mr. Hatake? Now, since you seem reluctant I will escort you there personally. You appear to have finished your meal," she stepped back, waiting for him to follow.

Harry made a snap decision and shoved a sausage into his mouth, rushing to stand too. He swallowed as Madame Pomfrey looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm his guide, so I should go too," Harry explained, shoulders slumping in relief as she nodded.

Harry was curious; something had been off about the shinobi and he knew that going with Madame Pomfrey would give him the answers.

The two boys followed quietly behind her as they left the Great Hall, heading for the infirmary. As they entered, Harry glanced around the familiar room, having been here more times than he cared to count since he started here five years ago. Madame Pomfrey herded Hatake to a bed and demanded he strip so she could get a closer look. Harry settled himself close by as Hatake slowly unravelled his scarf, seemingly resigned to his fate.

Harry couldn't contain the gasp that left him as Hatake peeled off the final layer of his shirt. Starting just beneath his heart, a massive bruise spread out over his ribs. It looked like someone hand throw a paint bomb at his chest, unleashing red and blue and purple into a grotesque mess across a pale canvas. How could he move with that? How had he hidden it? Harry had thought something was off, but this was... this was major. Scars were scattered all over his arms and torso and Harry felt a little sick at the number of them.

Madame Pomfrey crossed back to the bed after gathering her materials and tutted at the sight.

"What did you think you were going to do about that alone?" she said, placing some bandages on the table.

"Wrap it," Hatake answered sullenly. "How did you know?"

"It's my job," Pomfrey smiled gently, offering him a yellowish potion.

Hatake glared at it dubiously.

"It's a painkiller," explained Pomfrey.

"I do not need it."

"That bruise on your chest tells me otherwise."

"Nothing is broken and the pain is manageable. I've had worse," Hatake shrugged.

Harry watched the exchange silently, still reeling that Hatake had been able to hide it. His thoughts went back to the scar on his face; it went up to his eye and he always wore an eye-patch. Harry had known the shinobi for two months now, but it hadn't ever really occurred to him that he had actually lost it. It wouldn't have occurred to him that the shinobi could be injured at all. He was always so cold and aloof like the rest of the world couldn't touch him.

Harry struggled to associate the guy before him with that dark figure he had first met.

As Harry zoned back in he realised that Pomfrey had succeeded in forcing Hatake to drink the potion and had moved to rubbing some kind of ointment into the bruise.

"This will speed up the healing so it should only be there for a week," Madame Pomfrey said. "Mr. Hatake, this looks like you were hit with an Expulso curse. I've seen this kind of injury before and though the one you were hit with was weak, the pattern is the same."

Harry startled from his place against a wall seconds before the door to the infirmary opened. Dumbledore strode in with McGonagall at his heels and headed straight for Hatake. Noticing Harry was there, Dumbledore didn't even offer a greeting before McGonagall was escorting Harry out the room. The door slammed shut behind him before Harry could collect his thoughts enough to form words, his mind still turning over the information.

Hatake had been hit with a curse? By who? It must have been when he disappeared from the Hog's Head. Why didn't he say anything? These thoughts swirled around his head as he wandered back to the Gryffindor tower to tell the others what he had heard.


	16. Meetings

Kakashi stood to attention as McGonagall joined them, having escorted Potter out the room. He was reluctant to let Potter leave on his own but he did not have much of a choice considering the look his employer was giving him. He was abruptly pulled out of his stance when Pomfrey lifted his arms, wrapping a bandage around his chest. She stood back and eyed him critically.

“Can you breathe? Is it too tight?” she asked.

“It is fine, Pomfrey-san,” he replied.

She narrowed her eyes slightly before shaking her head and giving him a bottle of the ointment she had used.

“Rub that onto the bruise every evening and make sure to wrap it up. I want to see you here in a week so I can check it’s healing as it should.”

Kakashi gave her a curt nod, already going through the ways he could avoid that appointment. He hated hospitals in Konoha and it was not any different here.

“Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. If we could speak to young Mr. Hatake...?” Dumbledore-sama said, trailing off at the end.

Pomfrey seemed to have picked up the silent request, nodding and heading to her office in another part of the infirmary. Kakashi quickly pulled on his shirt and scarf, having left his mask on. He stood to attention once again as the sensei looked at him.

“Report.”

“I encountered a hostile when in the village with Potter-san. I discovered he was not there for Potter-san but to recruit me,” he said, noting the look the pair exchanged. “After extracting what information I could, I secured him for further interrogation.”

Kakashi then pulled out the stasis scroll from his pocket and presented it to Dumbledore-sama. A second passed as the wizards looked at the scroll.

“He’s in there?” McGonagall asked sharply.

Kakashi gave a curt nod.

“Well, we will need you to get him out of there if we are to find out anything from him,” Dumbledore-sama said calmly.

The headmaster turned to McGonagall, a silent request, and she pulled her wand from her robe, pointing it towards the floor in front of Kakashi. Kakashi unrolled the scroll onto the floor and pressed a hand to the paper, a brief light flashing before the infirmary was filled with pained wails.

“ _Petrificus totalus_ ,” McGonagall waved her wand, white light flashing from the end and freezing the man on the ground.

Kakashi took a moment to check her jutsu had worked before reaching down and snatching the broken remains of the wand from Avery’s hand. The man’s wide eyes followed his movements as Kakashi placed it on the bed and ran through hand seals.

“ _Katon: Houka Hira no Jutsu_ ,” he said, picking up the wand with his now flaming hand and amplifying the chakra until the wood had been reduced to ash, the whole process over in mere seconds.

Kakashi turned to the sensei and waited for instructions.

“Next time, Mr. Hatake, if you could refrain from destroying any wands,” asked Dumbledore. “They can be used as evidence.”

Kakashi nodded but found that he could not rid himself of the flicker of satisfaction he had felt when he had burned that stick. Very unprofessional.

“Why has he been stabbed?” McGonagall spoke up, looking vaguely disturbed.

“He did not want to surrender quietly,” Kakashi answered.

“His name?”

“Avery, Dumbledore-sama.”

The elderly wizard nodded before gesturing to McGonagall. She said something to reverse the jutsu and Kakashi stepped in immediately, pressing a foot to Avery’s throat. The man started scratching at his foot with his uninjured arm and his legs thrashed. Kakashi glared down, unimpressed.

“ _Shibari_ ,” he stated as he finished running through the hand seals.

Avery froze in place.

“Is that really necessary?” McGonagall drawled, eyeing Kakashi.

“I destroyed his wand, but it does not mean he will not attack.”

“Avery, why did you target Mr. Hatake?” Dumbledore-sama interrupted, silencing them both.

Kakashi lifted the pressure on Avery’s neck slightly, just enough so he could speak.

“I-(cough)-I shall _never_ betray my Lord.”

“What does he want?” Dumbledore-sama asked.

A grin spread across Avery’s lips, a grin of too much teeth and too little sanity.

“You really think you mudbloods, you muggles could ever hope to understand my-”

Kakashi pressed on his windpipe, cutting off any further words.

“He wanted your death, Dumbledore-sama, and Potter-san delivered to him,” he stated.

“That is not entirely unexpected,” Dumbledore-sama nodded. “Ideally, we would need to find out as much as we can from him, but we can send him to the Order for that. The only thing we need at this very moment is how they knew about your true origins and abilities.”

Kakashi nodded and lifted his foot slightly.

“Well?” he demanded, knowing the man had been listening intently.

As the man tried to continue his rant from before, Kakashi reached down and gripped the kunai that remained in his shoulder. Twisting it to the right, he listened to the man’s screaming for a moment before stopping, still holding onto the handle.

“I threw this with the intention of slowing you down, not to cause any real damage. However, if you are unwilling to cooperate I can ensure you can never use this arm again.”

Kakashi was calm as he delivered this threat. It was not the first time he had had to _convince_ enemies to give up the information they tried to hide.

“Y-you think a _muggle_ could threaten me? I have knelt at my Lord’s feet and He saw me fitting to serve Him. Take my fucking arm, it won’t stop me from fulfilling my duty,” hissed Avery, spiting in Kakashi’s direction. 

Kakashi considered the man for a moment, unable to help the small part of him that was impressed. It seemed wizards were made of sterner stuff than he had thought. Kakashi looked back at Dumbledore-sama, silently asking if he was to continue, ignoring the horrified look McGonagall was sending him.

“Minerva, fetch Severus and ask him to bring some Veritaserum,” Dumbledore-sama ordered, glancing at McGonagall.

The woman hesitated for a moment before turning and leaving the infirmary. Kakashi watched her go, trying to figure out if he had heard of it before. It did not sound familiar.

“Kakashi,” Dumbledore-sama started, snatching Kakashi’s attention. “No matter if I am here at Hogwarts or not, even if I am unemployed here, your mission is to remain the same. I did not hire you as Headmaster, I hired you as Head of the Order. Understood?”

Kakashi looked at him strangely.

“Understood, Dumbledore-sama.”

Moments later, McGonagall came back into the room, Snape trailing behind her with a vial of what looked like water. There was no odour and if Dumbledore-sama had not called it by some strange name he would have taken it to be water. Snape took in the scene before him and Kakashi caught a flicker of _something_ in his eyes. Familiarity? Like he had seen something like this before? But how? Where?

“I have the potion, shall I administer it now?” Snape sneered, still eyeing Kakashi.

“Yes, Severus. For now, we just need to find out where Voldemort is getting his information then the Order can take care of the rest,” Dumbledore confirmed.

Snape nodded and came towards Avery, glaring at Kakashi’s foot. Kakashi lifted it from Avery’s throat but kept the genjutsu in place. He watched closely as Snape poured three drops of the water-looking liquid into Avery’s mouth before stepping back.

“Now,” Dumbledore said. “Avery, would you like to tell us how Voldemort knows about Mr. Hatake and why he risked contacting him?”

“My L-Lord never told me how he knew; just that he had eyes in Hogwarts, that he would see everything when Harry Potter did-”

Avery clamped his mouth shut, horror across his features. Kakashi stared at him wide-eyed; why was he talking? What had that liquid been?

“What else did Voldemort say?”

“He-”

Avery cut himself off and Kakashi spotted blood in his mouth. Dumbledore had seen the same and sighed.

“The Veritaserum should last for a few hours. Mr. Hatake, put him back into your parchment and come with us to my office so we can hand him over to the Order. They can finish it properly,” he sighed, a heaviness to his tone that had not been present before.

Kakashi gave a quick nod and picked up the stasis scroll from the ground. He pulled the kunai from Avery’s shoulder and ignored the man’s screams as he lifted the genjutsu. Pushing chakra into the scroll, Avery disappeared and Kakashi placed it back into his pocket.

As the three sensei turned to leave, Snape throwing a venomous look his way Kakashi spoke up.

“What was that? What did you use?”

McGonagall and Snape looked to Dumbledore.

“It was a potion called Veritaserum. It makes anyone who drinks it unable to lie and compelled to answer any question directed at them.”

Dumbledore-sama, McGonagall and Snape resumed heading towards the door and Kakashi followed, an uneasy feeling taking root in his gut.

* * *

After Sunday was spent in the library avoiding Potter’s questions, Kakashi began Monday by listening to Potter and Weasley discuss something called a ‘Sloth Grip Roll’ as they all walked to breakfast. Before they left the common room, Potter spotted something on the notice board and immediately went closer to take a look.

_BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS_

_All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are henceforth disbanded._

_An organisation, society, team, group or club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students._

_Permission tore-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge)._

_No student organisation, society, team, group or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor._

_Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organisation, society, team, group or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four_

_Signed:_ Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor

“This isn’t a coincidence,” growled Potter, his fists clenched.

“There is a traitor,” agreed Kakashi, gaining looks from the other two boys.

Disgust flowed through Kakashi’s veins; there was a special place in Jigoku for people like them.

By the end of the day, the trio was in a foul mood and Kakashi sat near them as they finished their respective homework. He could still hear Potter and Weasley complaining about the cancelled Quidditch practice and Kakashi tried in vain to stop rolling his eyes.

His stomach growled grumpily and Kakashi made a mental note to take stock of his rations. They were for emergencies but after seeing the water-like liquid he was not sure he could eat the academy’s food again. He would have to watch even the water. Logically he knew he would have to eat from the table again but first he would try to find out all he could about this ‘Veritaserum’, to see if there was a way to counteract it.

Adding some shading to his bowtruckle sketch for Care of Magical Creatures, he sensed movement behind him but did not stop the hand that took the page from him.

“Wow, this is amazing, Kakashi. Mine is nowhere near as good,” Finnegan exclaimed, holding the page.

“What is it?” Thomas asked from his chair.

“The Care of Magical Creatures homework, you know, the one where we have to draw the bowtruckles. Check out Kakashi’s,” Finnegan replied, showing off Kakashi’s sketch to the common room. “It even beats yours, Dean.”

Kakashi had thought it was average. He had had to copy far more difficult seals under Minato-sensei’s teachings and half of those could have killed him with one wrong line. Honestly the sooner he never had to look at those twig creatures the better. Even now they still threw what they could at him.

“It’s so cool, like it’s in the parchment,” Longbottom marvelled.

“Did you manage that just using the quill?” Thomas asked, staring intently at the page.

“Yes, Thomas-san.”

Kakashi grabbed the paper from Finnegan and shoved it into his bag, taking out his potions book. Finnegan held both his hands up as he went back to his table.

“No way, man,” Thomas grinned. “I know who to go to if I need any help with the banners.”

Kakashi nodded and dropped his head to read the book, hoping the conversation would die. He sighed and glanced over as another wave of cheering reached him. The Weasley twins were forcing themselves to be sick repeatedly and despite it vanishing with a wave of Jordan’s wand, the acid stench still managed to invade his nose.

He quickly finished off the ‘Strengthening Potion’ scroll for Snape and gazed over at the twins’ demonstration for a long moment. He packed up his stationary and stood, crossing over to the huddle of students. Overhearing the price, he procured the amount he needed from the various students around him and stepped out in front, just in time for George to fill his bucket. The twins paused before their next round, staring at him curiously.

“I would like seven of those,” he said, holding out the coins.

“Well, well, well,” grinned Fred. “The exchange student would like to sample our Puking Pastilles. Fancy missing a few classes only two months into the school year?”

Kakashi tried to convey how unimpressed he was with his single eye.

“Here you go then,” George interjected, handing over several wrappers and snagging the coins. He then turned to the muttering crowd of students.

“See that, folks? Even those from faraway lands want our products, so make sure to tell all your friends!”

Kakashi melted back into the crowd as the twins continued their sales pitch, returning to his table and storing the tablets. He had already come up with multiple scenarios where it could be useful over the course of this mission and if Konoha could figure out how it worked they could reproduce it. He could not tell if it was a modified poison yet but he would send five with the scrolls he produced the day before.

A couple of hours later, Kakashi had finished the potions book from the library and the common room had emptied, disgruntled muttering about missing money following the last group.

Kakashi looked towards the fire place as he heard Weasley startle from his chair. He caught a glimpse of Black’s face before the fire was surrounded by the kneeling trio. He shut his bag and walked over to them, standing just close enough to see Black while listening out for eavesdroppers.

“How’re things?” Black asked, his eyes darting over to Kakashi.

“Not good, Sirius,” Potter responded. “The Ministry have banned all groups, including Quidditch and-”

“And secret training groups?”

Potter shut his mouth as Granger spoke up.

“How did you know?” she exclaimed.

“Choose your meeting places more carefully,” Black smirked. “The Hog’s Head wasn’t a good choice.”

“But the Three Broomsticks is always so crowded and-”

“A large crowd would have made it more difficult to overhear,” interrupted Kakashi.

Four pairs of eyes latched onto him.

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” asked Potter exasperatedly.

“Would you have listened?” Kakashi retorted.

The trio were silent for a moment before Hermione utter a small ‘yes’, gaining looks from the other two. Kakashi stared at her, shoving down his surprise. He had not thought any of them would take anything he had to say in consideration; to hear otherwise, he was not sure he wanted to consider the implication.

“Hatake was attacked while we were there,” Potter spoke up, shooting him a look.

Kakashi held in a sigh. He had managed to avoid being alone with the trio for two days now and he hoped that they would just drop it.

Sirius nodded but he did not look surprised.

“I know and it’s being handled.”

“Wait, you know?” Granger burst out. “How?”

“We were told by Dumbledore but enough on that. Ron, I have a message from your mother...”

Kakashi tuned out as he sensed movement just outside the doorway. He silently slipped away from the conversation, moving to the exit and felt out for the presence he sensed. He had changed as soon as he reached the common room earlier into his ‘casual’ clothing so he had his weapons close to hand, and he slid a kunai into his hand as Ishihara’s chakra moved past the door.

She had been more active lately, spending most of her time around Umbridge’s office. On a hunch he had checked the seals he had found on his first patrol and they had disappeared. It was one less thing to monitor but now she was around the castle unseen almost as much as he was.

He turned sharply as he heard horrified gasps and he spotted Granger standing, staring into the fire. He moved closer and saw a grasping, stubby hand waving around where Black had been. His hand twitched slightly as he shoved down the urge to stab it and he turned to the trio, pocketing the kunai as he followed them to the dormitories.

He caught them just before they split to go to their separate stairways.

“We have to assume that all methods of communication have been compromised. Do not attempt to contact Snuffles-san and be careful with what you write in anything that will leave the academy.”

The students looked disturbed and Kakashi cut off the inevitable protests as he herded the boys up the stairs, deaf to their indignation. He had not sent anything to Konoha since Umbridge had become High Inquisitor, sealing everything he had gathered into a storage scroll and keeping it in his bag. It seemed that Hokage-sama would be waiting a while for his next report.

* * *

After a riveting final lesson of attempting to silence a raven in Charms, Kakashi walked grudgingly to watch Quidditch practice. He was still of the opinion that the raven would be silent if it was dead, but he had kept his thoughts to himself considering that killing to solve problems was frowned upon here.

After darting to his room to change and grab a cloak, he _shunshined_ to his usual watching spot, thankful for the shelter it allowed him. As he watched the team trudge onto the field, looking as delighted to be there as he was, he wondered how long they would last. Hopefully not long.

Gazing at the brooms flying in the air, Kakashi once again pondered the point of it all. Why waste energy doing this when they could be honing themselves? He saw the tactical advantage that being proficient in flying would give, but it would only be to the select few who played. What about the rest of the school? Everyone in this academy was obsessed with this ‘sport’ but what skill or advantage did it give to those who just watched? The whole ‘Quidditch’ thing just seemed pointless to him.

Only an hour later, the Gryffindor team gave up and slogged their way back to the changing rooms. Kakashi’s mouth quirked up slightly beneath his mask as he ran towards the academy entrance to wait for Potter and Weasley. As he entered the doorway, pushing down his hood and shaking his hair, he picked up on a presence beside him. Glancing to the side, he saw Malfoy staring at him.

Ever since the first time he had seen him, on the train coming to Hogwarts, the pale blond had kept popping up, usually to antagonise Potter. He wore the same colours as Ishihara and Kakashi had long learned that the red and green in this academy did not mix.

Kakashi had assessed the boy during his first week in Hogwarts, and while he was obnoxious and antagonistic, he would do no true harm to Potter.

“So you’re the ‘exchange student’,” Malfoy sneered.

Kakashi just looked at him, his expression flat.

“You know you really have bad luck, having to hang around a house of morons and Mudbloods,” Malfoy continued. “What’s your family bloodline? I’ve never heard of Hatake.”

Kakashi just remained silent, going to lean against the opposite wall to wait. He caught Malfoy’s furious expression.

“You can’t ignore me. Do you know who my father is-”

“No,” Kakashi answered dryly.

“Wha-”

“No, I do not know who your father is.”

Kakashi did in fact know who his father was. The image of a blond, slithery man was still in his head from Potter’s hearing, but Malfoy did not have to know that.

Malfoy’s face turned smug.

“He’s high up in the Ministry. One word from me and you could be sent back to your country,” Malfoy announced.

“So?”

Malfoy was shocked for a second before angry confusion took over.

“So I can send you back to Japan anytime I want.”

“No, you cannot.”

“Yes, I can. My father-”

“Your _father_ can send me back, you cannot,” Kakashi said calmly.

Kakashi had seen this type before, usually the sons of wealthy merchants or nobility. Entitled, mistakenly thinking that their father’s power was their own. Shinobi could not have this attitude as no matter how powerful the parents, the child would have to work and train to build their own power to survive the missions. It did not mean that children were unaffected by their parent’s reputation though. Kakashi had spent most of his life trying to escape his father’s shame, trying to build up his skills so people would look at him as Hatake Kakashi and not as the White Fang’s son.

If it had not been for his team, he would most likely still be trying.

Malfoy stared wide-eyed before his blue eyes clouded in anger.

“My family is one of the oldest, wealthiest wizarding families left. My father is highly respected by the Ministry and I could-”

“You are your father’s son but that is all you are,” Kakashi interrupted. “You hold your father’s name over people to bend them to your will, you believe yourself superior, but you are nothing without him. Once he dies, what will you have?”

Kakashi was not totally sure why he was still talking to the boy. From what he had seen over the last month and had overheard from Potter, Malfoy was a cruel, narcissistic bully who thought himself superior to everyone and ensured all knew it. Looking at the boy now, he could tell while others had fought against the bully, no one had really addressed why the boy acted this way.

“I’m a Malfoy; that will never change.”

“But is that all you ever want to be?”

Malfoy was silent for a moment and Kakashi was surprised to see the boy was actually thinking over his words. It occurred to Kakashi that had it not been for Obito and the events at Kannabi, he would still be stuck in the arrogant, rigid mindset of his youth. Did Malfoy have someone to do that for him? Or would he have to go through something so horrifying it would wake him up to himself?

Malfoy stared at him critically before scoffing, turning to stalk down the corridor.

“What would you know?” Malfoy mumbled snidely, and Kakashi would not have heard it if not for his heightened senses.

He did not look back as he merged with Potter’s group coming through the doorway, heading back to the tower.

* * *

Finally, the first day of training arrived and Kakashi watched slightly bewildered as Potter walked back and forth in front of a blank wall. Granted, that ‘Dobby’ creature had instructed him to but if there was anything behind that wall Kakashi would have found it long ago in his patrols of the castle. How could simply willing it make a door appear?

Kakashi’s thought were split between this and the events from earlier. Potter’s scar had flared up, hurting the boy. Even more concerning, the boy was able to relay the emotions and thoughts of the very man Kakashi had been hired to protect him from. It had happened before but Kakashi was still unsure of what to do about it. He could protect Potter from physical threats but mental? A Yamanaka would be better suited to deal with that.

Kakashi buried the urge to rub his temples. There were more and more pieces being added to this puzzle every day and Kakashi was sure solving it was the key to this mission. Look underneath the underneath, after all.

Kakashi’s musings were cut short as he watched a wooden door appear in front of him. It had not been there a second ago. He strode forward, grabbing the brass handle before the trio; if they had to go into a room that that should not exist, then he would go first and assess the danger. He opened the door and stepped in, taking in the spacious room. Books lined three walls while the last was taken up by shelves filled with strange objects Kakashi would not have been able to guess the function if he tried. Large cushions were scattered all over the floor.

“Harry, this is amazing,” Hermione gushed, a book already in her hands. “Everything we could possibly need is here!”

Kakashi did a circuit of the room, checking for anything ‘off’ but came up empty. He moved to stand beside the door as more began to arrive. It did not take long for the room to fill up and soon all the cushions were full.

The meeting began and Potter was elected the commander. They then decided the name of their group and Kakashi could not help the tiny snort that escaped him.

Dumbledore’s ‘Army’.

At the word ‘army’ Kakashi’s mind produced memories of travelling for days on end, solider pills, the dead scattered on the ground as the living fought on above them. He remembered death around every tree and rock, explosion tags, poisoned supplies, names etched into the Memorial Stone every day. That was his life during the war, while he was a part of Konoha’s ‘army’. He was still a part of that force but his role switched from foot soldier to assassin in the peacetime.

He gazed at the excited students before him. They had no idea what it truly meant to be a soldier; but perhaps that is a good thing. He himself hoped the younger generation never had to go through what his did. If they did get over their heads, Kakashi would be here to pull them out, at least until June.

“Kakashi.”

His head snapped up from the floor, having lowered without him noticing.

“You still with us?” Longbottom smiled.

Kakashi kept his body relaxed and face blank, giving a sharp nod. Thomas came and handed him a quill.

“You didn’t sign up last time,” he said as an explanation.

Kakashi took the quill and strode forward, coming to the parchment pinned to the wall. He wrote his name but left it in Japanese, giving the quill back to Thomas.

“We’re pairing up for _Expelliarmus_ ,” Thomas told him as he went to his partner.

Kakashi knew the spell and had figured out how to replicate the effects with chakra strings. However, he had no desire to waste his chakra to practice something he had mastered years ago. Especially with the theatrics he would need to do to cover the fact that the ‘magic’ would not be coming from his wand.

In the end, there were a perfectly even number of students and with Potter going around the room aiding students; Kakashi was left to his own devices. He settled back against his spot next to the door, observing the students. Were they just going to practice jutsu while they were here? Why not physical combat or even dodge training? He had hated those days Minato-sensei had spent throwing kunai at them, expecting them to dodge for hours, but he could not deny that it had been some of the best training he had ever received.

He thought back to the encounter with Avery; while the jutsu the man had been throwing at him could have caused serious damage, it was obsolete if they did not hit him. It was the same principle back in the Elemental Nations.

The session passed quickly but before Potter called for their attention, Kakashi tapped his shoulder.

“Potter-san.”

“What do you want, Hatake?” Potter replied warily.

“Are you going to assign physical training? Perhaps laps to start?” Kakashi asked.

“Why would I?” Potter said, utterly confused.

“It would be beneficial,” Kakashi explained. “All the jutsu in the world will not make a difference if it does not land.”

“What do you mean?”

Kakashi sighed and pulled out his wand, turning to walk a short distance from Potter before facing him.

“Try to knock my wand away.”

Potter expression cleared to determination and he pulled out his own wand. He held it in front and Kakashi rose to the balls of his feet, muscles tense, ready to move.

“ _Expelliarmus_!” Potter called out, moving his wand.

Kakashi was moving at the first syllable, making sure to slow down to a civilian speed. He moved to the left and stood twirling his wand between his fingers, Potter staring at him.

“Do you understand?” Kakashi spoke up, pocketing the stick.

Potter looked thoughtful as he considered it.

“That was amazing!”

Kakashi’s head snapped to the side to see some of the students staring at him with wide eyes. He had made sure to move at civilian speed though, why were they looking him like that? He had barely done anything.

Potter called for everyone’s attention, taking the attention off Kakashi and he snuck back to his spot. The students decided on Wednesday in two weeks as their next meeting but before they began to file out, Potter added something else.

“And if everyone could run two laps of the castle before the next session, or even once a week? We need to work on our bodies as well as our spells.”

He looked directly at Kakashi when he said this and Kakashi was surprised. He had suggested it but he did not think Potter would actually take it into consideration. Groans rose up from the group and complaints were mixed with reluctant agreements. Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. There was hope for them yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katon: Houka Hira no Jutsu = Fire Release: Flaming Palm Technique  
> Shibari = Genjutsu Binding


	17. Snap

Harry was going to be sick.

They were almost finished their third lap of the castle and Harry’s lungs refused to take in enough oxygen, his legs burned, his throat hurt. Dean and Ron beside him weren’t much better, having been sick at the beginning of this lap. They’d lost Neville sometime around the end of the first lap.

The cold, biting air hurt his throat and he could hear the chipper morning calls of the birds just barely over his ragged breathing. He wished they would shut up and let him be miserable.

Harry thought he’d been in fairly decent shape; five years of Quidditch had kept him trim but by the second lap he’d realised it didn’t help for this. At all. Hermione was going to go with the other Gryffindor girls later on, so it was just him and the rest of the boys, bar Seamus. The other boy wasn’t aware of the secret meetings and he was still mad at Harry. Not even Dean could convince the Irish boy to join them.

They finally reached the front entrance of the school and Harry’s legs gave out. He lay on the ground staring up at the sky as he desperately tried to keep his breakfast down. After who knows how long, Harry finally sat up, looking at the others.

Ron was still on the ground but Hatake was standing beside them, looking as fresh and unruffled as he’d been when they’d started running. Harry squinted at him through his fogged up glasses; surely wearing that mask should’ve made breathing even harder. Dean seemed to be debating whether to empty his stomach and Neville... Harry couldn’t see for sure but the other boy appeared to still be breathing.

When Hatake had suggested this at the DA meeting, Harry’s first thought had been to reject it, purely because it was Hatake who had suggested it. His mind had then taken him back to the talk with Sirius, when Hatake had said he’d known that the Hog’s Head hadn’t been a great place to meet. The shinobi may have been antisocial, secretive and sometimes downright rude, but he seemed to know what he was doing. If he suggested physical training then maybe they should do it.

Then again, as he finally got his lungs under control and sweat stopped fogging up his glasses, Hatake may have just said it to watch them suffer.

Harry’s eyes dipped to Hatake’s chest and the image of the bruise that was probably still there filled his mind. They still hadn’t found out what had really happened that day and he doubted they ever would. Sirius and the rest of the Order seemed to be in on it but apparently they had decided it wasn’t for him to know. He scowled as he stood, dragging a whining Ron to his feet as they attempted to revive Neville.

Once the four wizards had staggered upright, they trudged back to the castle.

“Hey, Kakashi?” Neville spoke up, sounding hoarse.

“Longbottom-san?” Hatake replied.

Harry could have sworn he saw amusement in his eye but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. His gaze was blank as he glanced at him.

“You can call me Neville, you know,” sighed the brunet. “Anyway, why aren’t you tired?”

“Yeah, I mean you look like you haven’t run at all,” added Dean, frowning.

Harry could sympathise. He kind of wanted Hatake to suffer like they were, but there he was, fresh as a daisy. Harry hated that, his own body screaming at him.

“Physical training is more integral to our curriculum than it is to yours.”

“Ugh, why can’t you just talk like a normal person?” groaned Ron. “Don’t they teach regular English where you’re from?”

“My English is adequate. It is hardly my fault that you lack understanding,” Hatake sniped back. “Perhaps you should focus more on your own learning than mine.”

Harry’s eyes widened as Dean snorted next to him, Neville soon following.

“He’s got you there, man,” Dean chuckled. He turned to Hatake. “And did you just sass Ron?”

Hatake looked at Dean for a long second.

“I answered his question.”

This just sent Neville howling and as a laugh escaped Harry’s own lips, he found it hard to smother as he faked a coughing fit. One look at Ron’s affronted face crushed any hope of hiding it as his shoulders shook, his hand pressed against his mouth.

“Kakashi,” Dean drawled, as he slung an arm around Hatake’s shoulder. “We’ll make a Gryffindor of you yet.”

* * *

Time passed in a swirl of classes, DA meetings and patrols and Kakashi barely had a moment to breathe. Although his intellect made up for starting five years after his peers, he still had to read and digest a great deal more in the same amount of time, especially since he had no previous knowledge to depend on. He had the necklace he had been given to thank for the fact he did not have to learn an entirely new language, but it was still a heavy load to navigate.

His patrols had only improved his memory of the castle layout, yielding nothing major of note, and the DA meetings were another responsibility to add to the growing list.

While he thought it was excellent that the students were improving their combat capabilities and learning to think for themselves, it did not mean he wished to take part. He was capable of replicating their ‘spells’ with his chakra but he did not see the benefit of this in the long term. He only did this in classes and even then, it did not take too much to pass. If he were in an actual fight, he would just dodge the spells and finish it with taijutsu. Fortunately, Potter was content for Kakashi to stand against the door and merely watch and the others were too preoccupied with their own matches to give him much thought.

It was the fourth meeting that there was a break in the routine as Granger arrived at the meeting with a bag of golden coins. Handing one to each member, she explained.

“This’ll tell us when the next meeting is. The numbers at the top are the date and time and when it changes, the coin will become hot so you’ll be able to feel it when you’re carrying around with you. It’ll mean that it’ll be safer, as we won’t have to actually speak to each other this way, so Umbridge and her lot won’t see us together and catch wind of it.”

Granger was oblivious to the stares she received from the other members as she continued. Kakashi turned over the coin in his hand, impressed. It was good idea and it meant tighter security, provided no one lost their coin.

“Harry will decide the time and date, then everyone’s coins will change to match his due to the Protean charm.”

Granger finished and finally noticed the looks from the rest.

“You can do the Protean charm?” a Hufflepuff asked in wonder.

Granger nodded sheepishly and handed one to the last member.

“Kinda reminds me of the Death Eaters,” Potter muttered, examining his coin. “Like how their scars burn when Voldemort summons them.

“That’s where I got the idea but I figured using coins would be better than mutilating our members,” Granger replied dryly.

Potter nodded in reply and pocketed his coin. Kakashi did the same but his thoughts were elsewhere as he went to stand beside the door. The scars they spoke of reminded him vividly of his own tattoo.

Every shinobi that joined ANBU was required to receive the mark, not only to distinguish them as part of the elite corps, but it could be used to summon them to the Hokage. Once they felt their tattoo burning, they knew they were to report to their commander. It seemed that wizards had also adopted this method of communication. 

Kakashi could sense that there was a general disapproval of this method from the students, though he could not tell if it was for the method itself or the fact the enemy used it, but it was also a more rapid and secure line of communication. The coins would work but there was the chance that it could be lost or forgotten about. Still, it was better than the word-of-mouth system they were using before.

With this new approach, organising the time and date of the meeting became much easier. As November rolled in, the meetings stopped altogether as the ‘Quidditch’ season began. Kakashi had read up on the sport since his conversation with Granger and he had no more interest than he had had back then. The entire school was of a different opinion, with even the teachers far too involved than Kakashi thought was warranted.

Ishihara was staying out of his way although she was not at all subtle about it. He could not blame her after the recent incident.

He had been following the trio to Potions as a fourth year class exited. When he had seen the kunoichi, he kept his gait relaxed; there was nothing she could do in front of so many students that would come close to succeeding. She passed him and sent him a small glare, before continuing to talk to another Slytherin. He thought nothing of it, stepping up to the door to enter the classroom.

“How are you so terrible at potions, Rin?”

Kakashi’s head had snapped back as he heard a giggle in reply. The buzz of noise in the corridor fell away as he stared at the two girls, the smile on Ishihara’s face so completely foreign. It was an effective act, but Kakashi could see the sharpness to her grin, the tense line of her shoulders.

He must have heard wrong. There was no way. Not that name.

“It’s not on purpose,” Ishihara laughed. “At least none of them have blown up.”

“Seriously Rin, you’re lucky you’re in Slytherin so Snape can’t deduct points.”

Why did she have to use Her name?

“I know, right?” she grinned as the other girl threw up her hands in exasperation.

_No. It’s wrong. Rin doesn’t smile like that. It’s all wrong._

Kakashi clenched his fist, his mouth tight. He breathes, in and out, in and-

A boy called from the end of the corridor.

“Hey, Rin! Rin! You forgot your quill.”

As he jogged up to her, _fake_ Rin smiled brightly and reached out, thanking the boy.

_No no no. Not Rin. She wasn’t going to use Rin like that._

How dare she? How dare an _Iwa nin_ use Rin’s name?

Kakashi snapped as the kunoichi waved to the boy, laughing once more as she spoke to the girl beside her.

_Stop it._

He forgot where he was. He forgot that mere metres away, nosy students were staring at them from all angles. He forgot that he could not harm her with all these witnesses. He forgot even the mission.

It all melted away into a red, hazy vision and his body moved on autopilot.

Suddenly he was glaring into her brown eyes, close enough he could feel the sharp huffs of breath against his cheeks, his kunai pressed against the bobbing flesh of her jugular. Kakashi could hear the rapid beat of her heart, could smell the fear coming from her in waves, thought about how easy it would be to put a mere ounce of his strength behind his weapon.

He could already feel the blood on his hands.

“Hatake!”

Kakashi’s head snapped towards the voice, spotting Snape approaching them with his wand out, shoving his way past frozen students. Behind him, the shocked faces of the students stared back at him and reality hit him with the force of a _Doton: Dosekiryū_. Startled, his head jerked back to the kunoichi and he saw his own shock reflected back at him. He only had time to lower the kunai before he found himself gripped by the ankles and dangled from the air on the other side of the corridor.

He pulled himself up to slash at the perpetrator but found nothing, his ankles remaining in a fixed position in thin air. He bent back to hang upside down, his robes draping around his head. He slapped them against his sides in annoyance as Snape walked up to them, the tip of his wand pointed at Kakashi. The kunoichi was still where Kakashi had left her, her bag opened and scattered on the floor between them. He did not know when that had happened.

“Attempting to sabotage the work of another student. Thirty points from Gryffindor and detention with me this evening,” drawled Snape in his usual sneering tone. “I catch you at it again; it will be a month’s detention.”

“Don’t you have class, Miss Ishihara?” he continued.

The girl seemed to snap out of her daze and nodded sharply, gathering her work as she shot angry looks at Kakashi. He returned a single venomous look, filling it with a healthy dose of killing intent.

She left quickly.

Once she was out of sight, murmurs and whispers flooded Kakashi’s ears. His stomach dropped and a cold sweat broke out. He felt vaguely sick.

“Sabotage?”

“It looked more like he was going to attack her.”

“What’s that thing in his hand?”

“Do they know each other?”

“No way was that just House rivalry.”

For the first time since he had put these damned things on, Kakashi was grateful for the bulkiness of the robe. It had appeared to have hidden the details of the confrontation. Snape stepped in front of Kakashi and took the kunai from his hand. Kakashi gave it willingly; he could not do anything else, not after that gross display of misconduct. The kunai disappeared into the dark, billowing sleeve.

Kakashi met his eyes but did not have time to glean anything from them as his ankles were suddenly released. He could have landed on his hands and sprung to his feet, but Kakashi felt he had drawn enough attention already. He fell to the ground in a heap on the cold, stone floor and quickly stood, escorted by Snape into the potions classroom. The other student had already taken their seats. He kept his head down as he stepped into the classroom and sat in his own.

He took the chance to look up as Snape called the class to attention and spotted Neville shaking and pale with an uncomfortable-looking Dean beside him. Both shrunk away from his gaze. Even the trio tensed up as he looked at them, all three of them avoiding his eye. As his eye snapped back to the worn wood of his table, a raw feeling restricted Kakashi’s lungs that had nothing to do with the guilt of jeopardising the mission.

He had fucked up. He fucked up so bad. He could only accept whatever consequences that awaited him once Snape reported to Dumbledore. He would get taken off the mission and Konoha would lose the pay it needed so badly. How could he even call himself an ANBU, a shinobi after that? His team would have been ashamed of him.

* * *

Rinri sped down the corridor, her heart refusing to slow, her breaths still coming in harsh bursts. Her initial fear had rapidly faded to anger and she had to stamp out the desire to turn back and crush the Konoha nin under a _doton_ jutsu. Mostly she was angry at herself for being taken off guard like that.

What was that? What the fuck had set off the copy nin like that?

Three months they had been here. Three months and Hatake had never made a single move against her. He seemed more than happy to stay away from her and allow them both to carry out their respective missions in peace.

She had even followed her orders and left him alone. She did nothing to provoke him and yet, the memory of a single burning eye haunted her as she slumped onto a seat in the corridor.

She hadn’t been able to do anything against him. She’d had a kunai at her throat before she even registered that the other shinobi had moved. It forced her to think about the only other time they had clashed, earlier in the year. He had toyed with her. He probably could have killed her at any point in that fight and she wouldn’t have been able to stop him.

Angry tears burned her eyes and she scrubbed at them roughly. Her village chose her for this mission and she would do it, but she had received an abrupt reminder that she was still just a chunin. Sometimes her anger and recklessness caused her to forget that, as her sensei always told her during training. She picked fights she couldn’t win.

And the most frustrating part of it all was that she didn’t know why. _He_ was the one to remind her before about the mission, about maintaining their cover. Then he just turns and attacks her in front of a bunch of kids?

What had made him so angry that he forgot why he was there? She had seen the shock in his eyes clear as day as he had looked back at her, reflecting her own. Then he had been yanked off his feet and dangled upside down, with nothing holding him up. As her Head of House had approached them, she figured it must be a jutsu of some kind.

Rinri rested her head on the wall behind her, feeling her heart rate slow as she stared at the highly arched ceiling. She punched the bench, cracking the stone slightly.

If Snape hadn’t been there, if there hadn’t been a class of students, Rinri wasn’t sure she’d still be here. She would have put up a hell of a fight, but even she had to recognise that it would have been a losing battle. She’d heard stories about Hatake during the war and they hadn’t seemed real until now. Stories never seemed that bad until they became reality. There was a reason he was A Rank in the Bingo Book and Rinri could only look back and realise she had been lucky.

It was a bitter pill to swallow.

* * *

As the usual clamour of dinner surrounded them, Harry slowly ate his soup, his friends silent around him. Occasionally he would shoot a look at Hatake but the shinobi remained silent, looking as though he’d been carved from stone. Harry exchanged a look with Ron but found the same confused wariness he himself felt.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Snape stand, the other teachers dispersing, and stride towards them. The professor stopped beside them and scanned them, narrowing as they stopped on Hatake.

“Your detention starts now, Mr. Hatake. Come with me.”

Hatake stood without comment, his plate untouched. The pair left the hall and Harry couldn’t help but notice that Hatake looked almost... defeated. The table around him seemed to let out a breath and the tension bled out. Dean leant across the table.

“So anyone know why Kakashi flipped his lid with that girl?”

Harry just stared down at his soup, his already weak appetite evaporating.

“I’ve never seen him so angry,” mumbled Neville, glancing at the door.

“Never mind angry, I’ve never seen him look anything before,” Dean shot back.

At the looks from the others, he continued.

“I mean, he always looks so calm and really cool, you know?” Dean looked down. “Like nothing ever bothers him.”

“I know what you mean,” nodded Neville. “If I were him, I’d be miserable away from my family and friends, chucked in a school with strangers.”

“Like Kakashi has friends,” Ron muttered.

Harry looked up, eyebrows raised at the glare Neville shot at Ron.

“He’s not a bad guy; he’s just bad with people.”

“No one’s saying he’s a bad guy, Neville,” Harry sighed. “Maybe he just cracked under the pressure from everything?”

“Who was the girl?”

Four pairs of eyes darted to Hermione, who had been silent up to this point. She looked up and Harry could almost see the gears and cogs turning behind her eyes.

“What?” Ron asked.

“The girl. Who is she?”

“I heard from some of the younger guys that she’s a fourth year Slytherin,” Dean shrugged, grabbing more bread. “Word got around and they were talking about it before dinner. I didn’t catch the name but apparently she’s foreign.”

Hermione leaned forward, gaze sharp.

“Did you hear where?”

“Nope,” he replied, stuffing the last of his dinner in his mouth. He stood reluctantly, brushing off his robes and patting Neville’s shoulder. “Sorry guys, we promised to meet Seamus to do the Potions essay.”

The pair left and silence enveloped them once more as Harry and Ron stared at Hermione, waiting for her to speak up. She was onto something and if they had picked up anything from the past five years, it wouldn’t take long for her to share her findings.

“I think they are from the same place,” she said, absently stirring her drink,

“Wait, you think she’s that girl from the start of the year?” asked Harry, abandoning his soup as a lost cause. “I mean, I didn’t see her face in the corridor but she wore Slytherin robes back then.”

“So if she’s been here the whole time, why did Kakashi choose now to go berserk?”

“I don’t know, Ron,” Hermione muttered.

“Have you found anything in the library?” Harry asked.

“I haven’t found that symbol anywhere so far, but I found some historical accounts that might have something.”

Hermione gathered her things, the word ‘library’ floating back from her retreating form. Harry looked at Ron and they shared a knowing look. Kakashi stood no chance when Hermione was in full research mode.

* * *

Dumbledore sat back in his chair, his hand clasped on the desk in front of him has his gaze bore into the shinobi. Minerva and Severus stood to one side, both having made their concerns known to him earlier.

He knew the discipline required of shinobi and the dedication they had towards to their missions. Which made this occurrence all the more baffling. Kakashi stood to attention, as if carved from granite, still in uniform though he must have grabbed his mask and scarf sometime before dinner.

“Report.”

There was no reaction.

“Report, Kakashi, now.”

“There was an altercation earlier today involving the Iwa spy. Zero injured and the witnesses did not see anything of note.”

“So you attacked a Slytherin student not only in front of my students but Severus was required to intervene. Correct?”

Kakashi responded with a sharp nod.

“Take off your mask and scarf.”

Kakashi’s head snapped up, something indecipherable in his steel eye. Dumbledore just continued to stare at him. He knew full well what he was asking and why, but at this point he didn’t care. This shinobi had endangered his students and Dumbledore was going to find out exactly why, respect be damned.

Kakashi pulled the fabric down, his mouth twisted in distaste. He clutched the red scarf in his hand, his knuckles white.

“Tell me why.”

Kakashi lips thinned as they pressed together.

“It was a moment of... weakness,” he answered, looking almost pained to say the words.

“Not good enough. I want to know exactly why you decided the security of my students and your cover was not as important as killing this girl.”

It was his decision to bring a shinobi into this school, despite warnings from his staff. He had never doubted it, they needed the advantage that Kakashi brought and Avery was proof of that. Voldemort would not be holding anything back in the coming war and they couldn’t afford to either. But not at the expense of his students.

“Ishihara is from Iwa. They were an enemy of Konoha in the last Shinobi War and they still hold a grudge that they lost. The kunoichi provoked me and, it worked, this time,” Kakashi stated dully.

Dumbledore could tell that Kakashi would rather eat one of his knives than speak about this, but he didn’t have a choice. An advantage of being the client was that the hired shinobi had to obey; all that mattered was the mission and Dumbledore knew full well how important the payment is to Konoha. He had no qualms of abusing this power if it meant keeping his students safe. This required reining in the solider.

“How did she provoke you?”

“When was the war?”

Dumbledore looked over to Minerva. He nodded to her and let her take over; she was going somewhere with this.

“How is this relevant?” Kakashi shot back.

“Answer her,” Dumbledore responded.

Kakashi was keeping up an impressively impassive face, still standing at attention. Anyone else would have been unable to glean anything from the sharp features or dismissed it as him not caring. Dumbledore could spot the little things though; the shinobi was uncomfortable.

“It ended two years ago.”

“So you were both involved in the war?” Minerva pressed.

“Yes.”

“So it’s personal?”

Kakashi was quiet.

“Kakashi, is this personal between you?”

“Not for me, but it is for her.”

“Why?”

“Iwa was as a whole have a grudge against my team, for acts committed in battle. It is the nature of war.”

“If it not personal for you, then why did you initiate the attack?” Dumbledore interjected.

“She provoked me and it worked. It will not happen again.”

“Not good enough.”

Kakashi still did not move. A student of Hogwarts would have argued or debated or broken down, they would have _reacted_. Dumbledore did have to acknowledge how well-trained shinobi were, barring this incident.

“Tell me why exactly you attacked her. No more dancing around the question.”

“Her cover name, it’s the same as my teammate. I was... angry that Iwa would use it for something as petty as provoking me.”

“And violence is the answer?” Minerva said incredulously.

Dumbledore caught a hint of confusion flash through Kakashi’s gaze. He spoke up, quickly swerving away from that topic. They had no time to enter into the inevitable ethical debate that would arise should Kakashi and Minerva begin to discuss that.

“That’s it? The kunoichi used a name and that is enough for you to abandon the mission?”

Kakashi swallowed, looking down to the floor, breaking eye contact for the first time since he had been brought into the office. Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed.

“Who is she?”

“She’s dead, so it doesn’t matter,” Kakashi snapped, his grip tightening on the scarf. He then breathed deeply and his posture relaxed slightly. More calmly, he said, “It will not happen again and the mission will be completed to your satisfaction.”

Dumbledore keep quiet for a moment, letting the shinobi stew in whatever thoughts were running through his head.

“If there is another incident like this, I will have to contact the Hokage. Dismissed.”

Kakashi nodded and disappeared with a cloud of smoke, leaves whirling before settling on the ground.

“Is that really enough?” Severus spoke up finally. “That boy is dangerous, all of his kind are.”

“As is Rin, Severus, but I believe Kakashi will learn from this just as she did. There is no place for their war here,” Dumbledore said gravely.

“What about the students? The rumours have already begun,” Minerva added.

“I doubt anyone will come close to the truth as rumours and the like are often greatly exaggerated. Allow it to happen and it will die down eventually,” he answered.

Dumbledore stood.

“Keep watching Rin, Severus and you do the same with Kakashi, Minerva. They are more than capable of carrying out their mission but I am not willing to let them run around with no supervision. I will contact Rin’s employers and see if we can work together rather than continue with this cat-and-mouse game.”

The other two teachers mumbled their agreement and left the office. Dumbledore moved over to Fawkes, stroking his head gently. He had known this would be a risky venture when he had first sent that letter to Sarutobi, but it would pay off. Kakashi would give them an advantage that they never would have been able to obtain alone. An advantage that could be the key to this war.


	18. Different

Kakashi took a small step back to survey his handiwork, the brush glistening red in his hand. It had been three days since the ‘incident’ and things were finally starting to settle down into the strange normal that had existed before. The trio had thrown themselves into finding out more about him and his background and he was content to let them. He had already removed any material from the library that contained any sensitive information so anything that they further uncovered would not threaten the security of Konoha.

The first person to approach him voluntarily the day after the altercation with Ishihara was actually Longbottom. The boy had just sat himself down beside Kakashi, shooting him a nervous smile before beginning to talk about the herbology lesson that day. Kakashi had stared at him for a long moment and Longbottom had trailed off, his forced grin slipping.

Kakashi had then replied belladonna had been the first plant he had liked in the class, since it did not move or try to maim him in some way. This had brought a laugh out of Longbottom and soon the boy was chattering away. This had the domino effect of some of the others in Gryffindor warming back up to him though the rest of the school seemed still seemed to be holding their breath.

Thomas had approached him earlier that day about making banners for the Gryffindor quidditch team, who were due to have a match against Slytherin tomorrow. He apparently had not forgotten Kakashi’s homework assignment on the little wooden _oni_ and insisted that the shinobi had to help. While he still did not understand the enthusiasm the students had for this strange event, Kakashi figured this would go a long way in enforcing his cover as a regular student. He had to be more involved now.

Before, he had managed to get away with keeping himself slightly separated from them all; they had thought he was a bit odd, but chalked it up to being from a foreign country. Now though, he could not afford to alienate himself any further than he already had.

“You done, Kakashi?” Thomas piped up from behind him.

Kakashi just took a step back and gestured to the banner with the brush. Thomas looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened.

“I knew getting your help would be a great idea,” he grinned, as he came to stand beside Kakashi. “I mean, your Bowtruckle was amazing but hot damn. How do you do that?”

Kakashi looked down at the banner. In the centre was a large ‘Gryffindor’ written in red paint, with gold faintly highlighting each letter. He had done the top and sides much like the Gryffindor crest, with the red and gold feathers running along the border of the banner and at the bottom was the gold ribbon, also taken from the crest. Instead of the ribbon reading ‘Gryffindor’ however, Kakashi had written ‘勇気’ in red, which could be translated to ‘courage’ or bravery’. It was also part of a verb ‘勇気づける’which meant ‘to encourage’ or ‘to cheer’; he thought it was appropriate for the banner.

“I copied the crest on your uniforms and expanded it to fit the banner.”

He was not really as talented at art as Thomas seemed to think he was. Kakashi had an eye for detail and a steady hand which meant he could copy already existing things particularly well. He could not create anything unique. In his mind, there was a vast difference between the two, particularly when it came to fūinjutsu.

“What’s that mean?” Thomas pointed at the bottom.

“ _Yūki_ , bravery.”

“That’s awesome, dude,” beamed Thomas, clapping Kakashi on the shoulder.

Kakashi tensed slightly under the contact but his attention was soon taken by the group entering the common room. The chatter from the third years died as they spotted him. Kakashi sighed inaudibly as the group quickly scurried up the stairs. In the grand scheme of his mission, the opinions of the other students mattered little as long as they did not question his identity as a student. While his cover was safe, every avoidance and rumour was a reminder of how he had screwed up.

If this was a regular bodyguard mission in the Elemental Nations, the kunoichi would be dead and none of this would be relevant. It was times like this when he wished he could be back in Konoha. There was no one waiting for him, no one to miss him, but even then it would better than here. In ANBU, he would be surrounded by others just like him, using his abilities to their full extent on vital missions and only answering to the Hokage.

As free as someone like him could be.

Everything was simpler at home. Here, it was all more complicated than anything really needed to be. At this point, he would even welcome Gai’s challenges.

He itched the bandages beneath his shirt, the wound having been aggravated by the fall from Snape’s jutsu. Just when it had been getting better too.

There was nothing he could do about his situation though; Dumbledore had made that _very_ clear. All he could really do is continue this mission and shove all thoughts of home to the back of his mind. Once he got Potter to the end of the year alive, he would gladly leave this world behind. If he happened to run into Ishihara on a future mission, there would be no objections to eliminating an enemy from Iwa.

“They don’t know you and are probably just getting it all from the rumour mill.” Thomas let go of his shoulder. “Let’s get these banners away.”

As Thomas turned away, Kakashi pulled out his wand, eyeing it with distaste. First thing he was going to do at the end of this mission; burn the thing. Before he could attempt to adapt a Katon jutsu to dry out the wet paint, a gust of wind behind him rustled the paper. He turned to see Thomas with his wand out and walked up behind him.

He glanced at the banner pinned down by the furniture. A large ‘Go Gryffindor’ was in block red capitals with a cartoon lion riding a broom beside it. The lion was decked out in the uniform with a massive grin on its face, holding up a small golden ball. Thomas turned to him.

“I use _Ventus_ to dry out the banners since I don’t want to risk anything flame-related near it; especially if Seamus is helping,” his smile turned fond at the mention of the Irish boy. “It took me months to figure out how to lower the force of wind that comes out though.”

He turned and dried out Kakashi’s after securing it.

“I remember Flitwick freaking out once when I was making the banners in the Great Hall in third year,” he chuckled. “He thought I was about to blow half the hall away.”

Kakashi nodded in thinks as he gathered the banner to store until the next day. He had to admire Thomas’s ability to modify the technique, though the reason behind it did amuse him. Such an undertaking for a task so mundane. He would never understand wizards.

* * *

The day of the match arrived and the whole academy bustled with life at the early hour as bright colours and excited chatter filled the Great Hall that morning. Even Kakashi was in a mildly better mood; the homework assigned had decreased in the lead up to this match so he had had more time to patrol, and therefore more time to sleep. With all the hype for this match, not a single student had so much as glanced at him either.

As he sat at the Gryffindor bench, surrounded by a sea of red and gold he glanced over at an ill looking Weasley. As Potter and Granger tried in vain to assure the boy, Kakashi’s eye scanned the table and he picked out some fruit and porridge. The youngest Weasley, Ginny, leaned over the table just as he got the food to his plate and placed a piece of paper by his spoon. As Kakashi shot her a look, she had already turned to speak to her brother. He pocketed the note; he would read it when they were all busy with the game.

“What are you wearing?”

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to see a frowning Thomas with a confused Finnegan behind him. Longbottom halted the sausage aimed for his mouth in the seat beside him to look at Thomas too. Potter on his other side appeared to not have heard, still speaking the increasingly pale Weasley.

“Clothes.”

“Where’s your school scarf? Or jumper? Or anything with Gryffindor on it?”

Kakashi just raised one eyebrow. He was kitted out in his grey hoodie, black trousers and black sandals that he usually wore when he was out of class, with his mask and eyepatch firmly in place. Rin’s scarf was snug around his neck, one of the few times it sat comfortably.

“I was not aware there was a uniform for spectating?”

“There isn’t,” Thomas explained. “It’s about showing support for your team; like at the football matches or any sport, really; you wear the logo or colour of the team you want to win.”

Kakashi did not particularly care who won. He may be a part of Gryffindor for the time being but he failed to see how a Quidditch game really mattered on the whole. He supposed he could liken it to the Chunin exams; each village wanted their Genin to win above all others for the purpose of political and financial gain. Though Quidditch seemed like a cheap alternative; at least the Genin competing had the opportunity to attain a promotion while building their skills and techniques that would be used in future missions. As far as he had read, Quidditch was more akin to bragging rights.

“My scarf is red,” Kakashi answered.

“Yeah, but you always wear that,” Thomas replied, exasperated.

Thomas appeared to care very deeply for this ‘support the team’ philosophy. The boy himself had the Gryffindor jumper and scarf, with painted symbols on his cheeks. Much of the student body seemed to follow this trend, even Longbottom beside him decked out in red and gold. Kakashi sighed heavily, allowing the other boys to hear it.

“My scarf is red,” he repeated. “It counts.”

Finnegan seemed to get the message and dragged Thomas to a spot on the bench. Thomas called back once to remind Kakashi to come pick up the banner before he settled down into breakfast. In their place, Lovegood, the strange blonde from the train at the beginning of the year appeared wearing a large lion’s head.

Kakashi’s good mood was now gone. As he spotted Madame Pomfrey scanning the crowd, most likely for him, he ducked and murmured to Potter that he would meet him outside the Great Hall. Making his escape from the determined gaze of the nurse, Kakashi sighed and leaned back against the cool stone of the wall.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Kakashi sat on the windowsill, his dark eye taking in the scene before him. The atmosphere of the Gryffindor common room could have more been more far removed that of the morning, despite the victory, as the students surrounded Johnson, Potter and the twin Weasleys.

“Banned...” Johnson repeated dully, as if the concept were too strange for her to even consider.

Kakashi looked away from the students to watch Granger’s orange cat chase the golden ball around the room. It was their own fault that they had been banned. They attacked a member of the other team, there was never going to be a lenient judgement.

From what he had observed they had been provoked but violence was always going to be a more punishable offence than a few petty words. If Potter and Weasley had any sense they would have left it alone and attacked Malfoy when there was no witnesses and in a way that would leave no evidence. Instead, they had lost their tempers.

Shame briefly flickered to the forefront of his mind before he shoved it back and buried it deep. He too had lost control of himself when faced with the Iwa nin but he had rectified this; he had seen the folly of his actions and it would never happen again. He had no one to blame but himself, same as them.

Kakashi looked back towards the students as Johnson announced she was going to bed and was hoping this was all a dream. As they dispersed, Kakashi hopped off the windowsill and made to move towards Potter but was stopped by the twins.

“Did you get the note from Ginny?” Fred asked, his usual grin missing.

Kakashi raised one eyebrow but nodded. The note the youngest Weasley had given him at breakfast had merely said ‘Filch’s office. No magic. Help us?’. It appeared the twins were going to explain it further but he already had a fair idea of what they were going to ask.

“So do you want to help us break into Filch’s office?” George added after tearing his gaze from Johnson’s retreating back.

“No.”

He tried to walk around them but the twins blocked his path. Behind them he saw Weasley stumble through the entranceway and Potter and Granger rush to meet him. He sighed.

“Why me? Why not use your wands to do it?”

“’Cause we can’t use magic for this-”

“-And you’re super sneaky even without it.”

Kakashi shot them a flat stare.

“C’mon, Kakashi, live a little! All I’ve seen you do this whole time is follow Harry around and do homework. Surely you’re bored by now.”

Kakashi did not even bother to deign George a reply.

“There is everything you could ever dream of in there. I mean, that’s where we got the Marauder’s Map.”

“Why can you not use your wands?”

The twins looked put out.

“There’s a spell that can give the caster the history of a wand’s spells. Normally they would never use it at Hogwarts but since the toad is around...” shrugged Fred.

“There’s no magic allowed outside of class and we’ve already been banned from Quidditch,” George continued. “If she caught us doing something like breaking into Filch’s office, we’d be kicked out for sure.”

“If we’re gonna leave Hogwarts, it’ll be on our terms,” grinned Fred, sharing a look with his brother.

Kakashi did not even know why he was considering this. Logic dictated he just shut them down, move to where the trio were seated and forget the request had ever been made. However, on all his patrols he had yet to enter Filch’s office and from what he had picked up from other students the caretaker had quite the haul hidden behind the heavy, wooden door. There could even be sensitive information that he would not have had access to in the library. Looking at the two boys in front of him, there was no doubt in his mind that they would attempt this alone if they had to. He sighed heavily, glaring lightly as the grins on the twins faces grew.

“I will assist you.”

George reached out and clapped Kakashi cheerfully on the shoulder.

“Knew you weren’t a bad guy,” he chirped.

“Yeah, anyone who can spend as much time around Ron as you do without killing him isn’t someone to be scared of,” smiled Fred.

Kakashi just looked dubiously at the pair and decided not to ask.

“Meet here in 30 minutes.”

The twins chorused agreements as they took off for their dorm room. Kakashi looked back to the trio to see them preparing to leave. He strode over quickly, the room now blissfully empty.

“Where are you going?”

Potter looked at him, the misery over the ban still shrouding his shoulders.

“Hagrid’s back, so we’re going to go see him,” said Granger hesitantly.

Kakashi tried to place the name to a face but found he could not. He had heard the name several times and knew the man to be a loyal ally to both Potter and the Order but other than this he drew a blank.

“How do you plan to get there without being seen? It is past curfew,” Kakashi folded his arms.

“I’ll have the map so we’ll just avoid people,” grumped Potter.

Kakashi took a moment to appreciate the dumbness of that plan before he sighed.

“Wait here.”

He darted to his room and took the cloak out from beneath his bed. He climbed back down to the common room to see the trio still there. He had half expected them to have ignored him.

“Here.” He held out the cloak. “This will serve far better to keep you out of sight.”

Potter looked at him with wide eyes as he took his father’s cloak, his grip white-knuckled as if he feared that Kakashi would snatch it from his grip.

“W-”

“Tell me when you plan to leave after curfew and I will not take back the cloak.”

“Not yours to take, mate,” Weasley grumbled, even as he too stared at Kakashi.

Potter nodded as he held the cloak close, confusion still clouding his expression. Kakashi rolled his eyes and flew through hand seals, a pop beside him signifying the arrival of his clone. Kakashi just ignored the startled gasps of the students.

“I have an errand tonight but my _kage bunshin_ will follow and ensure your safety while you are out of the castle.”

He turned and headed for the stairs, intent on gathering his patrol gear for the night ahead. Just as he reached them, he heard Weasley behind him.

“Bloody hell. Just when you think you’ve got him figured out.”

Kakashi could not stop the small grin that formed as he climbed the steps.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he watched the two redheads make their way to Filch’s office; and he had though the trio at Hagrid’s were the ones he needed to worry about tonight. By some miracle no teachers had been summoned by the twins’ echoing footsteps. They had some experience with stealth, having used numerous passageways instead of the main corridors, but there was no way either of them were at a chunin’s level. Perhaps genin.

Fortunately both the Gryffindor common and Filch’s office were located within the West Tower so it was a short excursion. They came to the large wooden door and Kakashi released the chakra from his legs, twisting in midair to land silently on the balls of his feet. He concealed the sharp burst of air that left him as a brief pain went shooting through his chest. As he straightened, he raised a brow at the twins’ shocked faces.

“I mean, we knew you were cool, mate...”

“But cool doesn’t cover it anymore.”

“If you are finished?”

Fred and George mimed locking their mouth shut. Kakashi turned and kneeled next to the keyhole, ignoring the palpable excitement building behind him. He inserted his tension wrench and pick and began to feel around for the pins. A moment later, he heard the click and he stood, pushing the door open.

As he stepping inside, taking in the storage boxes that took up at least two walls and the rusted shackles hanging from the ceiling, the twins barged past him, laughing as they began to search the boxes.

Shaking his head at them, Kakashi began to search the boxes to his left. Most of what he found confused him, having never seen their like before, but some looked interesting enough to store in his pockets.

A green disc with what looked like teeth? A clear ball with a gold ring circling it? A couple colourful bent pieces of wood? There were a couple of small brown balls that made his nose wrinkle just by looking at them, so he left them where they were. Soon his pockets were full and he looked over at the twins, watching as they put fireworks into a large brown sack.

“Time to go.”

Fred tied up the sack as George hefted another onto his shoulder. They left the office and Kakashi relocked the door. They managed to make it back to the common room and once the door was closed, the twins finally released the loud cheers they had obviously been holding in since they left the office.

“It fucking worked, Merlin’s Beard, we actually did it.”

“No magic! No way can they trace it back to us.”

“Remind me to by Ginny a butterbeer for this idea. You too, Kakashi, butterbeer on us!”

Kakashi just nodded at them as he took the items out of his pocket and placed them on the table.

“Nice haul! Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs, looking to do some damage?”

Kakashi looked over his shoulder to see George peering at the table.

“How do you use them?”

Fred draped himself across one of the couches.

“Don’t you have frisbees where you’re from?”

He shook his head.

“What do you do for fun?” George asked, shoving his brother’s legs off the couch as he took a seat. “What games or sports do you play?”

Kakashi remained silent. He would have replied training but he did not think that was an acceptable answer anymore. Not now he had seen the difference in how they spent their pastimes.

“I am a shinobi. I do not have time for things like that.”

“Yeah, but what about when you were younger? There must have been some time in your life you could have fun,” Fred piped up, his grin absent.

Kakashi’s thought back to Minato-sensei. The man had always tried to loosen Kakashi up; both him and Kushina combined were a force to be reckoned with. The cheerful couple had always tried to include him, take his mind off his missions. Even back when Obito was around, winding up the other boy and bickering with him; that had always made his day a bit better, despite everything he tried to say to the contrary.

It was his fault, really. He never let himself relax or play, never let himself have a childhood. He was a shinobi by the time he was five, after all.

No time for fun and games in a war.

“No. There was not.”

The common room was silent.

“Well,” George broke in. “Frisbees and boomerangs are meant to be thrown, but a boomerang will come back to you.”

“And this,” Fred picked up the clear ball. “Is a Remembrall. It’ll turn red when you’ve forgotten something.”

Kakashi nodded in thanks and gathered up the items to store with his patrol gear. It may come in use one day. As he went to climb the stairs, George called out.

“It’s okay to have fun, you know.”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed. “Laughter is the best cure for everything.”

He just continued to quietly climb the stairs.

* * *

The next day came and as Granger headed back to Hagrid’s hut, Kakashi stayed with Potter and Weasley as they trudged through the pile of homework they had once again left until the last moment.

Kakashi had finished his as they had been given to him so he continued to compile the information that would be sent back to Konoha once the communication channels became safe once more. He ignored the sounds of joy and glee that came from the window as students made the most of the recent snowfall, shoving the conversation from the night before far from his mind.

Weasley stood abruptly as another snowball hit the window beside them. He stuck his head out and began to yell when one hit him in the face. Kakashi adjusted his mask as he grinned, Weasley slamming the window shut and shaking the powered out of his hair.

“Those gits, like they don’t have anything better to do.”

Granger entered the common room, slightly damp and rosy-cheeked, as Weasley took his seat once more. Kakashi heard the word ‘Hagrid’ before he tuned out.

The memories from his _kage bunshin_ had given him the image of a large, hairy man to match with the name. The man was harmless; while his bulk could do some damage, his personality would not allow him to hurt even a fly.

He truly got to assess the man when the time came for Care of Magical Creatures that following Tuesday. The only redeemable thing that Kakashi had found with this class is he got to wear his mask and scarf since it was outside; otherwise it was a nightmare. Not a single creature they had studied so far had liked him and the feeling was mutual.

The Gryffindors arrived at the edge of the forest, where Hagrid waited with a dead cow on his shoulder, the Slytherin already having arrived.

“Ready?” grinned Hagrid, though it was difficult to tell through the bush on his face. “We’re gonna be workin’ in here today! They prefer the dark, so we’re gonna see them in their natural habitat. A real treat today!”

With that he turned and march into the forest, the students slowly following after him. After a while, Hagrid stopped and turned back to them.

“The meat’ll attract them but I’ll call ‘em anyway.”

Once Hagrid had let out a sharp shrieking sound, one that Kakashi was forced to flinch away from, they class waited silently, and dumped the carcass on the ground, the class held their breath. Eventually, they appeared. The creatures from the carriages when they first arrived, the ones that brought thoughts of Orochimaru to the forefront of his mind. One hand reached up to fiddle with necklace that allowed him to see these things as they approached.

“Why doesn’t Hagrid call for them again?” he heard Weasley whisper and Kakshi looked back at the other students.

Most of them were confused, looking everywhere except the creature in front of them. The only exceptions were Potter, Longbottom and one Slytherin student.

“Now... those who can see ‘em, put yer hands up!” said Hagrid.

Kakashi slowing raised one hand as the other three did the same. While Hagrid was smiling, there was pain in his brown eyes.

“What’s eating it?” a Slythern girl called out in alarm as the creatures dug into the cow.

“Threstrals!” Hagrid announced cheerfully. “Now, who knows why some of ya can see ‘em and some can’t?”

Granger raised her hand and spoke once Hagrid nodded at her.

“The only ones that can see a Threstral are those that have seen death.”

“Correct!”

The necklace Dumbledore had given him gave him the same sight that a wizard would have. Since Kakashi had seen more than his share of death, the trinket must account for that too. He was surprised so little of the class had been exposed to the darker part of life; they were far more naïve than he had thought. There was a small part of him that argued that these kids were the lucky ones; lucky that they did not have to live through so much death. In Konoha, all but the most sheltered of civilians had seen the death of someone, either close or stranger, before they reached double digits.

It was just the way it was.

Were these wizards wrong for coddling these students until much, much later in their life? Maybe they were just different; maybe they wanted their kids to _be_ kids just a little longer. Maybe that was not a bad thing.


	19. Open

After the disaster that was Care of Magical Creatures, the Gryffindors trudged towards the greenhouses, Granger using some sort of spell to melt the snow to create a path. While the lesson had gotten side-tracked by the appearance of Umbridge, there was one good thing to come out of it.

While Umbridge had been belittling Hagrid, the Gryffindors’ tempers rising and the snickering growing louder form the Slytherins, Kakashi had come upon an idea. An idea for revenge for all of his time she had wasted and for forcing him to take his mask off. One that Kushina and the Weasley twins would be proud of.

Kakashi has slunk to the back, out of sight, and as Umbridge had delivered her parting insult and turned to walk away, he acted.

“ _Genjutsu: Kanashibari no jutsu_.”

He only used a small amount of chakra, just enough to lock her ankle.

The splat Umbridge made as she hit the snow and dirt made it all worth it. Now, both Gryffindors and Slytherins snickered together at her expense and Kakashi was glad his mask would cover the victorious grin spread across his face.

It was a terrible use of chakra; a waste really. This would not aid his mission in any way and despite the fact that no one paid attention to him he should not have used a technique in the open like that. It was completely unlike him, completely out of character.

However, he could not bring himself to feel guilty. This was the first time he had done something purely for the joy of it since Minato-sensei and Kushina were alive. The first time he had allowed himself to. Why was he allowed to be happy when they were not here to share in it? When Obito and Rin and his mother and father were dead too? Could he really find joy in a world where they were gone?

Apparently, he could. He doubt it would be easy, doubted he could do something like this again, not when it was a mission; but maybe, maybe it would mean he would not have this empty void in his chest forever.

As Umbridge had picked herself up, swatting away Hagrid’s outreached hand, her beady eyes scanned the students, snow crusted around them.

“Who did that?” she screeched, waving an accusing finger.

The students remained silent until Granger dared speak up.

“Professor, no one had their wands out or recited a spell. It couldn’t have been us.”

Umbridge’s eyes had burned with fury as she was forced to agree with Granger. She stomped away, clothes and clipboard soaked through as Hagrid dismissed the class, the giggles and chatter having started up again.

“-But Threstral are fine, especially for Hagrid-” Granger was still talking as Kakashi looked over to the trio.

“That was the best bloody lesson ever! Did you see Umbridge’s face?” Ron interrupted.

Granger scowled at the boy before sighing, struggling to clamp down on the smile spreading over her face.

“She must have tripped on the snow or something.”

“I’m with Ron, best lesson by far,” Potter grinned, leaning over to high-five the redhead.

“We must hurry or we will be late,” remarked Kakashi, tugging his scarf a bit looser.

“Killjoy,” Weasley muttered under his breath, walking a bit quicker regardless.

Kakashi surpressed his smile, deciding to keep this small victory to himself.

* * *

November became December, announced by the doubling of the homework for the fifth years. At times Kakashi wondered why had to learn this. He would not be sitting the end of year exams and could not use 80 per cent of the material anyway. He then reminded himself that realism was the key to any cover and any information was good information.

December also brought a change to Hogwarts. Everything was decorated in shiny material of all shapes and sizes and they had brought trees indoors and decorated them in even more shiny things. Kakashi almost went blind the first time he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast.

As he sat with his rice and fruit beside Longbottom, his eyes flickering around the room as the candles reflected off the decorations. There was just so _much_.

“Hey, Kakashi?”

He looked over to Longbottom.

“How do you use those?” he asked, pointed with his spoon towards Kakashi’s chopsticks.

He had switched early on in the year to his preferred utensil and he had only had a few remarks about them. He had noticed Longbottom eyeing them for a while but it seemed the boy had finally worked up the courage to ask. Kakashi handed them over, manipulating Longbottom’s fingers into the correct positions.

“Hold the top one like a quill, then the bottom one against your fourth finger and base of the thumb. Now try moving them.”

Kakashi let go and watched Longbottom clumsily navigate the chopsticks to pick up a piece of bacon. When the boy had succeeded in placing it into his mouth, having dropped it only twice, he looked back at Kakashi with pride.

“Well done, Longbottom-san,” Kakashi said, as he took them back and discreetly wiped the ends on his napkin.

“You know, you can just call me Neville?”

Kakashi glanced at him, Longbottom’s face open and patient. Longbottom was nothing like Obito and Rin had been, nothing like Gai or Asuma or Tenzō, nothing like the trio who were too curious and judging for their own good.

“I do, Neville.”

Kakashi looked away from Neville beaming smile and dug into his breakfast. The post came for that morning and a letter dropped in front of Neville’s plate. Kakashi watched the colour drain from the boy’s face as he took in the handwriting. He reached for it and quietly opened it, reading through the contents. Kakashi continued to eat, giving the boy his space. Neville finally sighed and dropped the letter, pushing his head into his hands.

Kakashi debated internally for a moment before deciding there was no harm in it.

“Are you okay?”

Neville’s head snapped towards him and Kakashi could see the red around his eyes.

“Y-yeah, yeah it’s just my gran making sure she’s got the train times right.”

The boy turned back to stare at his plate and Kakashi sighed.

“There’s obviously something.”

Neville seemed to think for a moment before answering, “I love her but sometimes it’s hard this time of year without my parents-”

Kakashi nodded in understanding.

“-Especially ‘cause I know I’ll never live up to them.”

Kakashi’s gaze snapped to Nevilles’, intent.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean...look at me. I can’t ever get anything right. Everyone knows how useless I am as a wizard.”

“I don’t.”

Neville looked at him in surprise.

“You’ve seen me in class, especially in Potions.”

“I’ve seen worse,” Kakashi replied, determined.

Neville was a good person who did not deserve to think of himself like this. This seemed to go deeper though, beyond his insecurity about school.

“Your grandmother,” Kakashi begins. “What does she say to you?”

“It’s not her fault,” Neville shot back. “She misses my parents and I know I’m not enough. I mean, I won’t ever live up to them so of course I wouldn’t be-”

“Neville.”

The other boy stopped.

“You are not your parents. You have nothing to live up to because you are your own person. You do not need to reach some ridiculous standard your grandmother set for you because she cannot see past her grief. You do not owe anything to anyone.”

It was strange.

The words had escaped him before he had even realised they had crossed his mind.

He did not care for the boy ( _caring was dangerous_ ). He simply understood. He had spent so long trying to outgrow his father’s shadow he had not realised how much it was choking him, not until Obito’s death had woken him from his self-inflicted nightmare. He just did not want Neville to make the same mistakes he did ( _and lose everything_ ); that was all it was. There was no harm in being nice to the boy, but at the end of this mission he would leave with no attachments to those he left behind.

Neville stared at him with wide eyes as Kakashi pushed away his bowl and stood, striding out of the Great Hall.

( _everyone he cares about dies_ )

* * *

Harry entered the Room of Requirement early for the last meeting before the holidays, Hatake close behind him. He was in high spirits, the thought of going to the Burrow for Christmas carrying him through the insane workload that came with the end of term. He really hoped that Sirius could come, though leaving Grimmauld would be dangerous. It would be much better than leaving him alone with Kreacher for the holidays, plus there was Hatake. The shinobi being there would make it safe enough for Sirius, right?

Maybe he could even get a decent night sleep away from Hogwarts, instead of being plagued by weird images and foreign voices in his nightmares. He didn’t even need homework to give himself a headache anymore. As he glanced back at Hatake, his mind drifted.

The memory of Hatake attacking that Slytherin girl had mostly faded from people’s minds but every meal in the Great Hall led to Harry’s gaze drifting to her, puzzling it over. It had been so unexpected; at least he had known that the girl was the same as Hatake. It was still confusing, though; why had he done it? He hadn’t even been provoked; she hadn’t even looked at him, much less said anything.

Hermione had barely allowed herself to breathe since the incident, having holed herself up with books in the library and only emerging for classes and DA. She had told them she was looking for the connection, a reason why. She’d been slowly going crazy with the lack of solid information but she’d said in Transfiguration class that day that she was getting close; to what he had no idea. He and Ron tried to help where they could, but they were already drowning in their schoolwork. They hardly needed to make it even easier for them to fail their OWLs.

The torches burst into flames, reflecting off the many golden baubles hanging from the ceiling. He liked Dobby, he really did, but sometimes he was a bit too much he decided as he stared at his own face on the baubles, accompanied by the words ‘Have a Very Harry Christmas’.

He sighed as he took out his wand, turning to Hatake.

“We need to get them down before the others arrive.”

Hatake nodded and turned to walk up the wall, sticking to the ceiling as he began to gather baubles in his arms. Harry stared for a moment before beginning to float down the rest.

It was still jarring whenever Hatake used his skills freely. It was only four months ago when the guy wouldn’t do anything but follow him around quietly. He was still wary of him, still angry that Dumbledore thought he needed a guard in the first place but his thoughts of the shinobi were far removed from when they had first met.

It was hard to be scared of someone who got thrown twigs at by tiny Bowtruckles or taught Neville how to use chopsticks. He was still dangerous and kind of a dick but he was definitely on their side.

There was also something less...fake about him now. Whenever Harry caught his eye, there was something alive in there now, his voice less harsh when he occasionally spoke.

“Potter-san?”

Harry looked up to see Hatake batting down the scarf from where it swung in his face. His eyes drifted to the eye patch he wore; they still hadn’t seen under there and sometimes he wondered if he truly was missing the eye, or if something else was there. He was torn from his thoughts when Hatake spoke again.

“Why are there decorations around the castle? What is their significance?”

Harry’s eyes widened and he dropped the bauble he had begun to float down. Ron probably would’ve have fainted in shock had he been there.

“You don’t know what Christmas is?” he loudly blurted out, unable to help himself.

Hatake shook his head as he jumped down from the ceiling, placing the baubles in his arms gently onto the floor before walking up the wall again. Harry wasn’t sure where to start; never had he thought he would have to explain _Christmas_ to someone.

“Christmas happens every year on December 25th,” he started, continuing to float down baubles. “You get together with your family and friends and give each other presents from under the Christmas tree and eat a big dinner together and play games and put up tinsel and...”

Harry trailed off as he remembered Christmas in the past. Christmas had been horrible until he came to Hogwarts; the Dursley’s never doing any of the things he’d said with him. He’d had to stay out of the way until it was time to do the dishes. With the Weasley’s though, even the years he had spent Christmas at Hogwarts, it was everything he dreamed of when he was a cold, hungry kid under the stairs.

Spending his favourite holiday with a real family.

“We have something similar in Konoha, though not nearly as... loud.”

Harry looked up to see that Hatake had paused.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

He had no idea if he would answer or clam up like he usually did when asked personal questions. Getting anything out of Hatake was like pulling teeth but maybe since they were alone... He seemed to have waited until then to ask about Christmas though he must have been confused for a while.

“The Rinne Festival.”

Harry kept quiet as he waited to see if he would continue.

“It is a time to remember and honour the dead. Most like to pray or leaving offerings at the Memorial Stone or their family shrines. We also exchange gifts with friends and family, like you do; though we tend to light candles and lanterns rather than bringing trees inside and covering them with shiny metal.”

Hatake’s voice was quiet, somber, even with the slight amusement at the end. Harry’s thoughts reflected this as he thought about his parents; he would never share Christmas with them. There was so much joy at this time of year that he forgot that it was a time of sadness too, as some would never share Christmas with their families again.

“Are you going to go home for the Rinne Festival?”

Hatake abruptly began to gather the baubles again, finally finishing and dropping the floor again.

“No, my purpose is here, protecting you.”

Hatake started moving the golden balls to an empty corner. Harry quickly joined him and soon they got of them out of the way. It was quiet for another moment before Harry spoke again, unable to help his curiosity.

“Won’t your family miss you? And you’ll miss the festival. I’ll safe at the Burrow so you don’t have to be around then too.”

“I am instructed to guard you until the last day of the school year. No more, no less.”

Harry couldn’t help but notice Hatake had completely avoided the first question. He was about to push, especially since Hatake was being the most open he had ever seen him, when Luna walked into the room.

“Hello,” she greeted dreamily. “These are nice, especially the mistletoe. They’re infested with Nargles.”

Harry decided to keep his questions to himself for now.

* * *

Kakashi left the training room, leaning beside the door as Potter stayed back with Chang for some reason. The training had appeared to have gone well but he would have to find some time to fit some proper training for himself in. He was only able to get a real workout once every week or so and the running with the other boys hardly counted. When he returned to Konoha, he would have to go back to his daily routine.

Thinking of Konoha, the Rinne Festival crept up his thoughts again. He had been relieved to discover the reason behind all the gaudy decorations covering the castle and he had not been surprised that it would be a holiday similar to the one at home. It was always the one time of year he agreed to take off from his shinobi duties and the best times of his life were having dinner with Minato-sensei and Kushina after lighting the candles at the Memorial Stone, exchanging gifts grudgingly with Obito, Rin and Gai. The time of year had been shadowed with sadness after the loss of his team but he had still made an effort for Minato-sensei.

Last year, though. Last year he had spent December on a mission in _Kaminari no Kuni;_ he had forgotten the festival was even happening. Tried to, really, he could never truly forget. Not for all the _sake_ in the world.

This would be the second year of the Rinne Festival without them; the second year he would miss the festival. Maybe being away from the Elemental Nations would make it easier; getting away from only Konoha certainly had not.

The door to the room opened and Chang left, tears streaming down her face. Potter emerged soon after, shell-shocked. Kakashi stood to attention, scanning the boy. He was not injured nor in pain, so what had happened? Potter began to hurry back towards the tower, Kakashi taking long strides to keep up with him. They entered the common room where Weasley and Granger lounged beside the fire.

“What kept you?” piped up Weasley.

Potter remained quiet as he sat down and Kakashi moved over to his favourite spot, the windowsill. As he sat he itched the bandages still covering his chest; they were a nuisance and he was so close to just dumping them. Weasley looked at him and Kakashi just shrugged. Potter remained unresponsive as his friends attempted to pull an answer out of him.

“Was it Cho?” Granger finally demanded.

“It was,” Kakashi confirmed.

The three looked him before the two focused once again on Potter. Potter began to stumble through his word before Granger huffed and spoke again.

“Did she kiss you?”

Kakashi looked over in surprise as Potter nodded. Huh, he would not have guessed that one.

“HA!” Weasley began to laugh uproariously, startling a second year that Kakashi inadvertently chased from beside his windowsill. “Well, how was it?”

Potter had begun to smile in response to his friend’s reaction but Kakashi noted Granger’s frown, which had only deepened.

“Wet,” Potter began, but on seeing his friends’ faces he quickly added, “’Cause she was crying.”

“Were you that bad?” Weasley asked.

“I hope not,” Potter replied, a look of horror dawning on his face.

“You’re not. Cho spends most of her time crying, she does it all over the place.”

Both boys looked to Granger.

“You’d think a bit of kissing from Harry might cheer her up.”

“Ron, you are the most insensitive clotpole I have ever had the misfortune to meet!”

The redhead looked taken aback. Granger looked to Potter and saw he was just as confused. Honestly, Kakashi was confused too.

“You don’t know how she must be feeling? Kissing another boy only months after losing Cedric?”

That name rang a bell. It was the boy who died the year before. The pieces came together in Kakashi’s head as understanding dawned on the other two boys’ faces.

“Sh-she started it,” stammered Potter. “She started crying but she was so close and I didn’t know what to do-”

“We don’t blame you, mate,” Weasley said, patting Potter’s shoulder.

Any further discussion was stopped as Madame Pomfrey entered the room. Kakashi could not help but freeze as her gaze zeroed on him.

“Mr. Hatake, you have been avoiding me.”

“Madame Pomfrey, you don’t usually check on students so late,” Granger asked, putting down her quill and parchment for a moment.

“It is not quite curfew yet and I would have had this done ages ago if Mr. Hatake had not been _avoiding_ me,” Madame Pomfrey almost growled. “This is the first time I have ever had to track down a student to their common room and I do not intend to do so ever again.”

Kakashi signed and hopped down from his perch, following the furious nurse out of the room. Potter would be fine on his own for an hour or so; the common room was one of safest places in the castle.

Kakashi grunted in discomfort as the nurse got the last of the bandages off. The reason he had been avoiding the nurse is because he did not need to see the nurse. Yes, the bruise left behind Avery’s jutsu was taking much longer than expected to fade and yes, he may still have needed the bandages for a bit longer than usual but he can get through his stretches with no pain and he counts that as cured.

“I would have expected this bruise to have completely faded by now,” Madame Pomfrey frowned. “Of course, it would have if you had actually come and seen me when you should have.”

Kakashi just rolled his eyes. All health professionals were the same; all overly cautious and all angry when he skipped his medicals. He knew his own body; he knew his limits. Pomfrey pressed different parts of the bruise which had faded to a light green and yellow and Kakashi replied to every question the same. That no, it did not hurt.

“It really is unusual that it would take so long,” Pomfrey used as she began to go through the bottles on the table next to her. “The only reason I can think of for it to take this long is if you were weak to magic, like a muggle.”

Kakashi just shrugged and took the green-filled jar from her. As he opened it, he began to breathe through his mouth, the stench too much for his sensitive nose.

“Mornings and evenings I want you to rub that into your chest until the bruising disappears completely. You no longer need the bandages; however, I want you to be careful.”

He did not move, hoping he could go back to the dorms and throw it away.

“Put it on now,” she ordered sternly, crossing her arms. “The smell goes away once it’s rubbed into the skin.”

He resigned himself to his fate and began the chore. As he was rubbing the last of the ointment in, a knock sounded from the infirmary’s door and Dumbledore walked in.

“Ah, Kakashi. Just the student I wanted to speak to.”

Kakashi quickly finished up and tugged his black t-shirt and grey hoodie back on, shoving the closed container into his pocket.

“Thank you, Poppy. Now, Kakashi, if you’ll follow me to my office.”

The last time Kakashi had stood before Dumbledore in this office, it had been one of the worst moments in his career. There was none of the tension and anger that had clouded the last meeting, but Kakashi could still feel the tightening in his gut as memories of shame and being pried open against his will surged up. Dumbledore took a moment to properly seat himself, arranging his robes and giving Fawkes a gentle pat on the head.

“Harry will be going to the Burrow over the holidays, yes?”

Kakashi just nodded remaining at attention.

“You will go with him.”

It was not a question.

“You will also never avoid Madame Pomfrey again. For you to perform your best, you must be at your best, understood?”

Kakashi nodded.

“I also heard that some things went missing from Filch’s office. No culprit was found however, because there was no trace of magic at the scene. Can I assume you had a good reason for this?”

He nodded again. This was getting repetitive, but he did not have a reason to speak, wanting to avoid it if he could.

“I have reached out to the employers of Ishihara Rin.”

Kakashi stance tensed. This could not be good. Dumbledore’s sharp blue eyes held Kakashi in place.

“They have agreed that instead of two independent agents working within Hogwarts with two separate objectives, it would make more sense to have both of you working on both missions. Think of it as an attempt to less the burdens of both.”

“Dumbledore-sama, why would you work with someone who sent an enemy operative into your academy without permission?”

“She is _your_ enemy, not ours.”

Anger rose within him and he stomped it down. That _chunin_ would cause more problems than she would solve; she was not even in the same year or house as him. How did Dumbledore expect her to guard Potter while in such a position? Maybe, _maybe_ she could contribute intelligence that he did not have access to, but a small part of him believed that she would kill Potter just to spite him.

“I have discussed this with them, and while we both agree that the method of which they went about it was flawed, their reason for doing so outweighs their transgressions,” Dumbledore continued.

A Konoha nin and an Iwa nin working together? Did Dumbledore even realise the implications and issues that would arise? They could both complete their respective missions without ever having to even look at each other; or at least, he could. He made a point to ignore the memories of outside the Potions classroom.

“Before Harry goes to the Burrow you will be summoned to my office to meet with Rin and her employers. We will settle on the final nature of your mission and outline them the conditions plainly so it is as clear it could possibly be for you both what must be done.”

“Dumbledore-sama, you will need to contact Hokage-sama again to change the parameters of the mission,” Kakashi ground out, resigned.

There was no way out of this without potentially endangering the contract. Konoha needed that money to rebuild.

Dumbledore clapped his hands.

“That works out wonderfully since I forgot to send a letter the first time. I can make all the final changes and send it off as soon as convenient.”

Kakashi stayed still, stilling his shaking hands. This wizard had the audacity to ignore basic protocols and believe he could manipulate Hokage-sama himself. Missions could not just be changed on a whim, not during peacetime; how they were executed could be as that was often necessary during the course of a mission. Long term missions such as these usually were open to interpretation as long as the objective of the mission was completed within the timeframe.

What this man was doing, adding objectives as he went and tightly controlling the method in which they were done? This would never be accepted if a mission of this length and complexity was carried out in the Elemental Nations.

Dumbledore was about to continue when the scraping stones of the stairwell alerted them to someone else’s arrival. McGonagall strode into the room in a tartan dressing gown, quickly followed by Potter and Weasley also dressed in their sleepwear. McGonagall cast her sharp gaze over Kakashi before she strode past him, coming to stand in front of the headmaster’s desk.

Kakashi could see the sweat and tears still clinging to Potter’s face, matching panic on both his and Weasley’s faces. Something had happened and Kakashi had not been there. While he had been summoned by his employer, the thought of having fallen short in his duties did not sit well with him. He moved to the side of the room so Potter and Weasley could reach Dumbledore’s desk. They had not even glanced at him.

“Professor Dumbledore, sir, Potter’s...had a nightmare.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genjutsu: Kanashibari no jutsu - Temporary Paralysis Technique


	20. Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A massive THANK YOU to my beta, Hiniwalay, who has been incredibly patient and full of some the best ideas ever!
> 
> I don't have the most regular update schedule but I am dedicated to finishing this story, no matter how long it takes! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

“It wasn’t a nightmare!” Harry burst out, residual fear making his voice shake. “I mean, I was asleep but it was real! Mr Weasley’s been attacked by a giant snake!”

He stopped to take a breath, finally noticing Hatake standing to the side. When did he get there? He wasn’t there when he’d woken up.

“How did you see this?”

Dumbledore’s voice brought Harry’s attention back to the headmaster and a new wave of urgency welled up.

“I,” Harry began. “I was there, I-I was the snake.”

Silence followed his words. Anger rose to replace the panic as Harry realised that Dumbledore was refusing to look at him. Why was he not taking him seriously? Mr Weasley was seriously hurt this was not the time for Dumbledore to do his avoidance act he’d been pulling since the summer.

“He’s really hurt!”

Dumbledore stood abruptly, startling Harry.

“Everard, Dilys. You were listening?”

“Of course,” spoke up two painting near the ceiling.

“Go,” ordered Dumbledore. “A ginger man with glasses, make sure he is found by the right people.”

Harry missed what the headmaster said to Fawkes next, as Professor McGonagall conjured some chairs him and Ron. He was vaguely aware of Hatake coming to stand just behind his chair as his emotions left him abruptly, leaving behind something Harry couldn’t identify. Mr Weasley was getting help. He was going to be okay. He had to be. His head snapped up as one of the paintings called out to the headmaster.

“They found him!”

“They’re taking him to St Mungo’s. Dumbledore, he’s in a bad state,” the other painting added, the witch panting slightly.

Dumbledore turned to them.

“Minerva, I need you to go wake the other Weasley children.”

McGonagall swiftly left the room and Harry turned to Ron, his best friend pale and trembling. Harry reached a hand out to his friend, squeezing his arm tightly in comfort. What he was feeling aside, this was Ron’s dad. What Harry was feeling probably didn’t compare with what was running through his friend’s head.

“What about my mum?” Ron spoke up quietly.

“Fawkes will inform her,” Dumbledore reassured. “Although she may already know with that clock of hers.”

Harry’s mind flashed back to the Weasley’s family clock, imaging Mr Weasley’s hand pointed towards ‘mortal peril’.

“I’ll organise for you to go to Grimmauld Place. Kakashi, you will go with them. What we discussed will be revisited after the holidays rather than before. Fetch your equipment and come back here immediately.”

Harry turned to see Hatake nod before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Harry stared down at the pile of leaves as they gradually disappeared, thoughts of tonight still at the forefront of his mind. As Dumbledore produced a black kettle, Harry felt sick and avoided the gazes of the arriving Weasleys.

* * *

Kakashi stuck the landing as the portkey dumped them back in the dark house from the summer. He watched as the others around him picked themselves up from the ground where they had fallen. He did not know what to make of the current situation; Potter had been a snake and Weasley-san had been attacked? But it had been a dream? But not?

He dropped his duffle bag beside the stairs and turned to Potter. The boy still looked miserable as had been back in Dumbledore’s office he dusted off his knees. Black came from the kitchen, even more unkempt since Kakashi had last seen him and helped the female Weasley up.

“What happened?” Black demanded.

“Ask Harry.”

“I want to hear this myself,” the other twin added.

Kakashi silently moved to stand behind Potter as the boy began his explanation. The boy had apparently seen Weasley-san being attacked by a snake, but in a dream. Kakashi shot a look at Potter as he changed some details. In Dumbledore’s office, he had mentioned that he was the snake but in this retelling Potter described it as if he had been watching from the side. When Potter finished, the Weasley clan remained silent for a moment before one of the twins turned to Black.

“Where’s mum?”

“I’m sure she’s being told now,” Black tried to reassure, but it obviously wasn’t working.

“We should be there, at St Mungo’s,” the female Weasley spoke up, her arms folded. “Do you have some cloaks or something?”

Kakashi took them all in. They were in no condition to go anywhere, some lacking even footwear. He and Black were the only ones fully dressed. Not only that but if Kakashi had this right then the enemy struck tonight. They couldn’t go anywhere, not now they had confirmation that the enemy was on the move. Not without more intelligence.

The wizards around broke out in an argument as Black resisted their demands to see their father. Kakashi stepped forward, Potter shooting him a side glance.

“We don’t care about the fucking order,” Fred yelled.

“He’s our dad; not some soldier for the Order to throw away!” George followed up quickly.

“He knew exactly what he signed up for!” Black shouted back. “This is the way it is; this is why you are not in the Order! You need to understand that some things are worth dying for!”

“Big words when you’re nice and safe here! You aren’t risking your neck!”

Kakashi decided to step in as he watched the colour drain from Black’s face. Standing here arguing would not solve anything and Kakashi was not about to let Potter leave anyway.

“Is this not a war?”

Six pairs of eyes snapped to him.

“What?” the female Weasley asked.

“Is this not a war?” Kakashi repeated. “Did your father not know what that entailed?”

Rage crossed the twins’ faces as one took a step forward.

“That doesn’t matter!” Fred shouted. “He’s our dad!”

“It always matters. Are you going to disrespect his efforts?”

Fred opened his mouth to shout again, but shut it after a moment. Kakashi continued.

“Your father is lucky; he survived. Are you going to ruin the work he has done towards ending this war? In making sure other fathers are there for their own children?”

Silence followed his words.

“We wait here until we receive orders stating otherwise,” Kakashi swept his eye across the room, daring them to argue.

Ginny let out a loud sigh as she sank into one of the chairs, Potter and Weasley joining her after a moment. The twins glared back at him but relented, leaning back against the fireplace. Kakashi caught the incredulous look from Black but brushed it off. It was rare that the students listened to him but his words seemed to have an effect; he knew war, he knew what it took from people. But Black was right; some things were worth dying for.

They sat there all night, dozing and drinking from the bottles Black had produced. When their mother appeared in the early hours of the morning, pale and rumpled, to announce that their father would make it, Kakashi could feel the relief flood the room. As they moved through to the kitchen for breakfast, Kakashi couldn’t help his own relief. He was glad that these kids didn’t have to suffer this loss but the nagging voice of the deaths sure to come persisted as he helped Potter gather the plates.

* * *

Harry pinched himself once more, shifting his position against the wall as he listened to Ron snore. He didn’t dare fall asleep, he couldn’t risk becoming that snake again. What if he hurt someone else? His gaze was drawn to the small brown dog at the end of his bed. Pakkun, he remembered. Hatake had summoned him before disappearing as they’d gone to bed. Harry dropped his feet onto the floor, hauling himself off the bed. Finding Hatake would be a good distraction from the exhaustion calling him to his pillow.

He moved quietly through the house, checking the empty, dusty rooms. The small dog trotted behind him for a while before coming up to nudge his leg, giving him a look before walking off. Harry followed Pakkun to a room an abandoned corridor that had escaped the cleaning frenzy of the summer. He pushed open the door Pakkun had sat beside to see Hatake in the middle of the room, doing a handstand. He watched with wide eyes as Hatake appeared to be doing push-ups. Harry struggled to run around the castle and Hatake was doing this kind of stuff?

As Hatake put his feet on the ground and rose to his full height, Harry noted the gleam of sweat covering the other boy. The vest Hatake wore exposed his bare arms, with a bandage wrapped around his upper left arm and Harry rubbed his own thin arms at the sight of the muscles rippling when Hatake folded his arms. This drew his eyes to the scars scattered on Hatake’s skin. Harry wondered how he’d got them.

“You were looking for me?”

Harry’s eyes were drawn back to the shinobi’s face. He still wore the mask, though it must be making it harder to breathe.

“Have you been working out this whole time?” he blurted out.

“I must keep up my training, even on long term missions,” Hatake shrugged as he went over to his bag, pulling a cloth out.

“What do you mean by training?”

“Why did you lie yesterday?”

Harry blinked at the question.

“What?”

“Why did you lie yesterday?” Hatake repeated. “You spoke as if you were merely a spectator, not the snake itself?”

Harry swallowed heavily at the reminder.

“They were upset enough that I saw it,” he explained quietly. “It would have been worse if they’d know I was the one who attacked him.”

“But you did not.”

“Didn’t what?” Harry was not awake enough for this conversation. He should have stayed in his room.

“Did not attack him. You may have seen it though the snake’s eyes, but you did not harm Weasley-san with your own two hands.”

“I might’ve well have,” Harry mumbled quietly, going to one of the walls of the empty room and sliding down to sit.

“Do you get these visions often?” Hatake asked, coming to sit beside him.

“Not like that, but yeah,” Harry admitted, dropping his head back to rest on the wall. “The nightmares have been getting worse lately.”

“So when you dream, your consciousness is projected to this animal,” Hatake drawled, sounding it out. “You see events happening at that moment but cannot influence them, only able to observe.”

“But I-” Harry argued, jolting forward before he faltered. “I know that, probably. It just... it just felt so real.”

Hatake leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling for a moment.

“We have techniques that can influence the mind. Part of our training is to recognise when we are trapped in an illusion and to discern what is real.”

“And how do you do that?”

“Practice.”

Harry slumped back heavily at Hatake’s words.

“But I was the snake,” he muttered. “I could feel everything that it felt. I didn’t know anything else until I woke up.”

“Do you truly believe that Weasley-san would not have been attacked if you had not been in the snake’s mind at that time?” Hatake asked, his lone grey eye staring at him.

“Have you heard of something like this before?” Harry deflected. He did not want to think of an answer to that question.

Hatake shook his head, his silver hair bouncing at the movement.

“Only rarely and there have been no cases quite like yours.”

“Great,” Harry grumbled.

Silence fell on the two as Harry stomped down thoughts of the snake. He was tired of thinking about it, tired of the guilt the thoughts brought.

“Why do you wear that mask?” he asked instead, abandoning subtlety as he tried changing the subject.

Hatake shot a glance at him before standing, heading over to his bag again. Harry sighed and stood too. He should have known better than to expect an answer; they weren’t friends. Hatake was there because Dumbledore didn’t think he could look after himself.

“My father gave it to me when I started at the academy.”

Harry’s head snapped to Hatake, shock racing through his system.

“Your dad?”

Hatake slipped his grey jumper on, running a hand through his hair.

“Yes.”

Harry’s mind shot back to yesterday, to Hatake’s words.

“So is a family thing? Does everyone wear one?”

“Only I do,” Hatake answered quietly.

“Why?”

“Come,” Hatake called, completely ignoring Harry’s last question. “They are calling for you.”

Harry followed after the shinobi although he couldn’t hear anything. He was more conflicted than ever about the enigma that was Hatake but at least he wasn’t sleepy anymore.

* * *

Kakashi leaned against the back wall as Moody and Tonks arrived to collect the wizards to make their way to the hospital. As concerns were raised over Tonk’s pink hair, Moody turned to him, his Byakugan hidden by a weirdly shaped hat.

“I’m not sure about you. You might pass for a foreign wizard but I don’t know about a muggle.”

Kakashi brought his hands up and donned the same _henge_ he had assumed for Potter’s trial and then refolded his arms, leaning back against the wall. Tonks made her way over to him, grinning widely.

“Not bad.” She changed the colour of her hair to green to blue and back to pink. “Not like mine but it’s rare that someone can do what I do. Can all shinobi change their appearance?”

Kakashi watched her, frowning. Why was she talking to him? None of the older wizards spoke to him and it took an entire term at their academy for the younger ones to get comfortable doing so.

“Yes.”

Tonks opened her mouth to reply when Moody yelled from across the room.

“Let’s go! We don’t have all day!”

Kakashi followed the family through London and onto the same mode of transportation that he had followed Potter on when the boy had gone to his trial.

It was as awful as last time.

The smell was horrible and being crushed between too many people in that underground steel box was not any easier the third time. His skin itched as his senses were dialled to the maximum; the ghost of a blade gliding over his skin with each person that bumped into him. He made sure to stand next to Potter, hiding his discomfort as he scanned the passengers of the death box.

When they exited the death box he followed the wizards up self-moving stairs, finally reaching the open air and taking a deep breath in relief. He listened in on Moody’s explanation of the location of the hospital as he looked around, dividing his attention between scanning for enemies and ignoring the shining lights and loud noises from the shops.

The group came to a stop in front of one of the many buildings along the street, although this one looked dark and quiet compared to the other headaches. Tonks led them over to a fake body wearing an outfit that reminded Kakashi distinctly of Gai and then asked the body to see Weasley-san. As Tonks stepped through the glass at the motion of the body, Kakashi waited until Potter entered before following behind to guard against unknown threats on the streets. He did not close his eyes as he passed through; this was not the weirdest thing he had encountered since starting this mission, after all.

They arrived in a busy reception area that was barely easier on Kakashi’s ears than the awful street outside. It was much louder than the hospitals in Konoha and although there were weird and unnatural afflictions present, there was no blood. No missing limbs. No stabbings. No training accidents. There was always at least one of them in the waiting room in Konoha, especially during the war.

Kakashi joined the queue with Potter and the Weasleys, glancing at what he could vaguely make out as the hospital plan on the wall. Although the necklace Dumbledore gave him translated English for him, he was never one to depend on others. So while there was nothing he could do about the wizard aspects of the trinket he could learn English while he was here so he wasn’t completely stuck. He had added it into his early morning homework sessions back in October.

He followed quietly as they made their way to Weasley-san’s ward.

“We’ll wait outside, Molly.” Tonks smiled, holding Moody’s arm as the older man grumbled. “Don’t want to overwhelm him; should be just family first.”

Weasley-san smiled back at her and ushered her children through the door, dragging Harry with them amidst his protests. Kakashi cast out his senses but beyond the other two patients, there was no one else in the room. He stayed back as the door closed; Potter should be fine, the Weasley clan outnumbered both of the possible threats and he could be there in a second if needed.

“You can drop the disguise now, y’know.”

Kakashi looked at Tonks for a long moment before bringing his hands up into a _kai_ , a cloud of smoke dissipating quickly to leave him leaning against the wall.

“You’re different.”

Kakashi did not react.

“You were a paranoid bastard before,” Moody continued. “Now you’re doing your spells in front of us, talking to the kids, letting us know you’re there. What gives?”

“C’mon Moody, he’s spent months at Hogwarts with them. He’s not made of stone, he probably warmed up to them,” Tonks rolled her eyes.

Kakashi remained silent, switching his gaze between the two wizards.

“He’s a shinobi. If he’s acting friendlier and letting us see his techniques it means he’s considered every goddamn variable and decided to do so. There’s a reason for it.”

Tonks shot Kakashi a look out of the corner of her eye.

“No one could be that controlled or paranoid, Moody. Not even you and you scream ‘Constant Vigilance’ at everyone within earshot.”

“Mark my words, shinobi are ruthless and this one is no different. Have you forgotten what I told you about them? We can use him because we have a contract with him but we should never trust him.”

Tonk grew quiet and Kakashi internally rolled his eyes. He certainly had not forgotten the greeting for this mission when he had first arrived. The past few months had softened it but everything he said then still stood now: the mission came first and his sole reason for being here was to complete it. Through any means necessary, which was a concept that was apparently still unfamiliar to these wizards.

“Would you still kill Harry if some paid you to after this mission?”

“Yes.”

Kakashi answered the woman without hesitation, but unlike before a sharp pain passed through his chest at the thought. In fact, the thought of hurting any of the students at Hogwarts sent that same pain shooting straight through him. He did not allow this to show; he had an image to maintain.

Tonks face twisted up into the same look of disgust as she had had all those months ago before she quickly wiped it from her features.

“I won’t forget again.”

“So why-”

The door opened and the students were ushered out into the hallway. Moody shot Kakashi one last look before he and Tonks entered the room and the door closed once again. The twins immediately began setting something up at the door as Kakashi stepped up to stand beside Potter.

“Here, Harry.” George held out a string and Potter inserted it into his ear. “You should be good to go.”

As Fred held up a thumb beside him, Kakashi gave them a strange look before stepping closer to the door. He closed his eyes, pushed chakra to his ears and conversation soon reached him.

“... and if Arthur hadn’t been there it would’ve had a lot more time to look around. So, Potter says he saw it all happen?”

“Yes. Dumbledore has almost been waiting for Harry to see something like this.”

“Yeah, well.” Moody replied. “There’s always been something funny about that Potter kid. Having him hang around that shinobi sure isn’t helping.”

“Dumbledore seemed very worried about Harry this morning,” Weasley-san said, her voice quiet.

“Course he’s worried,” Moody growled. “The boy is seeing thing from You-Know-Who’s perspective. He doesn’t know what it means, but if You-Know-Who’s possessing him-”

The sound cut out abruptly as Potter fell into him. Kakashi straightened up, dragging Potter up with him. Looking around, the Weasley children were staring at the boy in fear, the emotion reflected in Potter’s eyes.

* * *

The trip back to Grimmauld Place was quiet and despite his discomfort, Kakashi kept a closer eye on Potter. The boy had looked pale since the hospital and showed no sign of improvement. Once back, Potter raced up the stairs and Kakashi followed, entering the room to see him pull his trunk on the bed and start shoving clothes inside.

Panicked fuelled each of Potter’s movements and Kakashi purposefully let his steps creak the old floorboards, drawing Potter’s gaze to him.

“It’ll be safer for them if I’m not here.”

Kakashi continued to stare and Potter’s actions stuttered to a halt.

“Why are you staring? It will be. This is for them. If Voldemort’s really in my head, then I need to get away.”

A painting spoke up.

“I have a message from Albus Dumbledore, before you make your ever so noble escape.”

Potter glared at the painting but his hands stilled.

“Stay where you are.”

“What?”

“I just said it, you dolt. Stay exactly where you are. No noble running away for the greater good or any nonsense like that.”

“Did he say why?” Potter huffed.

“Nothing whatsoever,” the painting replied cheerfully. “And you, in the red scarf.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as the painting turned to him.

“You’re to keep the boy here and out of danger.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. That was his mission, after all. The painting left and Potter dumped his trunk on the floor, flinging himself into his bed and folding his arms. Satisfied he was not going anywhere; Kakashi left the room to go over security once again.

* * *

Harry managed to avoid everyone well into the next day before Hermione came knocking at his door. She had dragged him down to speak to Ron and Ginny and after speaking to Ginny, it appeared he wasn’t possessed. Ginny knew what it was like to be possessed by Voldemort and what had happened to him wasn’t it. It didn’t help solve what had happened but it did make him feel better.

Sirius had infected everyone with the Christmas spirit and after the harrowing events at the beginning of the holidays, Harry was finally starting to feel it for himself. He had just felt so unclean, so dirty, the thought of someone like Voldemort in his body, using him to hurt people was enough to make him physically sick. The thought of someone like Voldemort in his body at all was enough to make him physically sick. He didn’t know how Ginny did it.

He tried to put these thoughts out of his head as Ron beat him at wizard’s chess for the fourth time. It was a quiet evening before Christmas, with Hermione knitting and Ginny reading nearby. Mrs. Weasley was making a snack in the kitchen and Sirius was sitting in front of the fire contently. Harry didn’t know how he could have thought for even a second that he could go back to the Dursleys’ for Christmas. He didn’t have a single happy memory there and he couldn’t see that ever changing.

Hatake appeared in the room, wearing the exact same outfit he had worn to St Mungo’s, scarf and all. Harry hadn’t seen him around the house the past few days and it had been a little strange compared to his constant presence while at Hogwarts.

“Hey Hatake, know how to play chess?”

Everyone shot him strange looks at his question, including the shinobi.

“No.”

“No better time to learn,” Harry grinned, tapping his seat as he stood. “I’m tired of losing to Ron.”

Harry was not the most observant person in the world but he had seen the difference between Hatake at Hogwarts and Hatake here. He had seen how the guy acted around Neville and when Harry caught the guy alone. There was something human in there; it couldn’t all be an act. He was still angry at the whole bodyguard thing but that was on Dumbledore not Hatake. There was also the whole issue surrounding his background but the more they found out about the shinobi, the less sense it made.

Kakashi paused for a moment, before slowly moving across the room and sitting. Harry went to sit beside Sirius who was still looking at him incredulously. He shrugged. Part of him hadn’t actually expected Hatake to accept.

As Ron began to explain the rules, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, Harry noticed Hermione squirming in her seat.

“Hey, Hatake?”

Hatake looked up from the chessboard, his gaze unreadable in his single grey eye.

“Why are there not more shinobi here? If they’re like you, with magic and everything, surely there must be more?” Hermione’s eyes were laser-focused on the shinobi.

That was a good question actually. There was Hatake and that other one at Hogwarts but otherwise Harry hadn’t heard of any others. The way others spoke about them, it was pretty rare for them to turn up but Hatake had a whole village of them, right?

Hatake remained quiet for a moment, but Hermione didn’t wait.

“I know you hate answering questions and everything but who are we going to tell? We’re students and Sirius is a fugitive. The Ministry hates us right now. I just want to know because accounts on your people are so far and few between and I want to be better informed.”

Hatake was silent for another minute.

“It is rare for my people to come so far. Our land is unknown to the world and we wish to keep it that way. We deal with your people because there is so few of you that there is more benefit than risk for you to know.”

Harry and Sirius startled on their couch as Hatake actually answered Hermione’s question. The shock showed on her face before her features schooled back into determination.

“But if they are all like you, it’d be easy for you take over.”

“Perhaps,” Hatake shrugged. “However, to transport a large enough force would be more effort than the whole endeavour is worth as it is difficult to leave. The borders are guarded and if we were to leave our own village long enough to invade here, when we went back we would not have a village to return to.”

“What do you mean?” Hermione leaned forward, quill at the ready.

“We are constantly at war and there has been no cause great enough to unite all the villages. If my village left, another would invade. The same would happen if another village left, we would invade them. It is the way of things. We would rather just keep to ourselves and send a shinobi every few decades or so for select missions.”

“Why tell us any of this? What if we you use against you?” Ron frowned at Hatake as Hermione wrote down her notes.

“Use what exactly?” Despite the fact Hatake was still showing no expression and had not moved an inch, Harry couldn’t help but feel that he was amused in some way. “I have not told you anything that could be use offensively in any way.”

“That’s not why I asked,” Hermione glared at Ron. “Why you then, out of everyone? Surely, there must have been someone better qualified for such an important mission since it’s so rare.”

“Hermione, I don’t think insulting him is way to get your questions answered,” Harry sighed.

As her face turned bright red in mortification, now appearing to register her own words, Hatake spoke up.

“I was available and qualified.”

“But surely people miss you? Especially if you’re not going home for Christmas?”

“They don’t have Christmas,” Harry spoke up. “They’ve got something called the Rinne Festival. It sounds really cool.”

“No Christmas?” Ron spluttered, knocking over his bishop as he moved the piece.

“Wait, does that mean you don’t get presents?” Ginny piped up for the first time, having put her book down a while ago. “Or Christmas dinner? Or a Christmas tree? Or Christmas jumpers?”

Hatake shook his head.

“No. We do exchange gifts with friends and family but the festival is centred on remembering those who have passed,” he said. “We light candles for them and visit shrines to present offerings and prayers.”

Silence followed his words.

“Maybe that would be a good tradition,” Sirius spoke up. “We could light candles this year.”

Harry quickly glanced over to Hatake but the shinobi was looking down at the chessboard again.

“But are you sure you’re okay with missing it?” Hermione pressed. “What about the people waiting for you?”

“Other people will visit their shrines in my stead,” Hatake said offhandedly, moving a knight before checking with Ron that the move was legal.

“She probably meant living people,” Ron drawled, not even glancing up from the board as the sarcasm rolled off his tongue.

An abrupt silence fell over the room. Hatake remained still for a long moment before knocking his queen and standing.

“I am going to do a security sweep.”

The silence remained as he left the room and lingered until Hermione spoke.

“That was out of line, Ron.”

“I didn’t mean it like-”

Ginny cut him off.

“Tact is something you should ask for, for Christmas.”

“I think that was the first time he’s actually sat down and spoke to us just to talk,” Sirius mused aloud. “Most words I’ve ever heard him say.”

Hermione’s mouth closed and she stared at the floor, upset. She had asked all those questions but as Harry glanced at his best friend, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointment as Ron packed up the chessboard. He knew he didn’t like Hatake but was that really necessary?

The implication of Ron’s words and Hatake’s response swirled in Harry’s brain. Did Hatake not have anyone to go home to? Was that why he kept avoiding the question and it wasn’t that he was an unfriendly, paranoid git? Hatake’s words about his mask reappeared in his head. Was the reason that he was the only one that wore a mask because he was the only one of his family alive to do so? Was he over thinking this?

The twins entered the room and stopped at the sombre silence.

“Wow, who died?” Fred asked.

The joke fell flat.


	21. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first section of this actually came about from an idea from a reviewer on ffn.net a while back. I'm always up for listening and taking on board suggestions and ideas that people want to see!
> 
> 'Bold' = Japanese

Sirius rested his head on his paws in front of the fire as his ears flattened against his head, trying to soften Molly’s sobs that were coming from the kitchen. Percy had sent back his Weasley jumper an hour before and she had been in there ever since. Not the best start to Christmas but at least Harry had loved the books he and Mooney had gotten him. He had thirteen Christmas and birthdays and New Years to make up for and being a fugitive and stuck in this hellhole wasn’t going to stop him from finally being the godfather that Harry deserved.

He heard soft padding coming up beside him and he lifted his head, staring at the small pug that plonked itself next to him. He wore a blue jacket and the same kind of headband that Hatake wore to cover his eye. He’d seen this dog along with several others around the house; the canine part of him went nuts over the scents of these strange dogs in his territory.

“You have no relation to the Inuzuka, do you?”

Sirius blinked.

“What?” he barked.

“You. Relation. Inuzuka,” the pug replied drily.

“No?” Sirius answered. “How are you...?”

“I speak dog and human. We are speaking dog.”

“Okay...”

Sirius trailed off and silence fell between the two.

“Why Inuzuka?”

“They can change into dogs too.”

“Oh.”

Another awkward arose.

“So,” Sirius started. “You’re Hatake’s?”

The pug bopped his head.

“I help out the pup,” he said. “He has to sleep sometime.”

“Pup?”

Sirius wasn’t sure that was a word that should be used to describe Hatake. The hair on his neck rose at the look the pug shot at him.

“People judge my pup harshly, but he’s a good boy.”

Sirius didn’t know how to respond to that. He had spoken to animals before in his dog form but this pug had far more intelligence than he was used to seeing in another animal’s eyes. At least, an animal that wasn’t an animagus.

“I’m Sirius, by the way.”

“Pakkun. I have soft paws but I don’t think you’ve earned the right to feel them.”

Sirius wasn’t sure if confusion could show on a dog’s face but if it could, it must be on his.

“Kakashi is a good boy, but he’s been hurt a lot. I get the same from you.”

Sirius looked away from the pug and placed his snout back on his paws. Azkaban was a hell of a place to compare to. He still couldn’t sleep in his human form, in fear that the dementors would finally turn up for his soul. It was safer as a dog.

“My pup would never ask for help, so I’m going to do it for him. Make sure he doesn’t fade away. He needs someone to treat him like a normal pup.”

“Why tell me?” Sirius lifted his head again.

“You have suffered, Sirius Black.” Pakkun rose to his feet. “I want you to help make sure my pup doesn’t. He has been through enough.”

As the pug walks away, Sirius stood too.

“Won’t he be angry you told me?”

The pug huffed what Sirius though was a laugh.

“Can’t be angry if he never finds out.”

Pakkun left the room and Sirius took the warning for what it was. He didn’t approve of having someone like Hatake around his godson; Merlin knows what the young man had done in his life. Moody had warned them when the shinobi had arrived and Sirius had taken him at his word. After yesterday though and Pakkun’s words, Sirius might have to reconsider the young shinobi.

“Sirius?”

He looked up to see Mooney frowning at him. He transformed, shaking his head briefly as he stood opposite his friend.

“What’s up, Mooney?”

“Why were you barking?”

“What?”

Mooney levelled a Look at him.

“You were barking.”

Sirius clapped Mooney on his arm and sauntered past him.

“Just having a friendly conversation, Mooney!”

* * *

Kakashi stared at the ceiling, the conversation yesterday looping through his head. He was getting too lenient with them. While he was correct in saying there was no sensitive or usable information in what he had told them, he still probably should not have told them. He was under no obligation to answer nosy wizards; he just had to make sure Potter got to the end of the year in one piece.

He sat up, running a hand through his hair and swung his legs to the ground. He put his head in his hands for a few moments, breathing slowly. There would be people back home to visit Minato-sensei, Kushina-nee’s, Obito’s and Rin’s graves; he wasn’t the only one who loved them. His parents were probably the only ones that would have any visitors but they should be used to that since he had missed the last couple years anyway.

Maybe he should visit his family shrine when he got back, not just the Memorial Stone. His mother had loved yellow begonias; she had thought that they were the happiest flowers. He had always made sure there was a vase of them by her sick bed. He could take some to her. His father had not been a fan of flowers but he had liked daifuku. They had too sweet for him but they had been out having some when his father had given him his mask.

His team would be happy with anything he brought them; they’d probably just be surprised he pulled himself together enough to visit. He lifted his head and stumbled over to the sink, washing his hands. He looked into the mirror, staring at Obito’s Sharingan. He dropped his head, scrubbing his hands that much harder.

A snuffling came from the door as Kakashi moved to pull on his grey hoodie and mask. Pakkun entered the room, hopping up onto his bed and watching as Kakashi tied his headband over Obito’s eye and wrapped Rin’s scarf around his neck.

“ **They’re going to head out soon. No incidents** ,” Pakkun reported as he sat.

“ **Thank you** ,” Kakashi replied as he stashed his weapons. “ **I will send everyone back so you can enjoy the festival**.”

“ **What about you**?”

“ **I am on a mission**.”

“ **You won’t fail your mission by lighting a few candles**.”

Kakashi pushed down the bubbling feelings back beneath the surface.

“ **Goodbye, Pakkun**.”

Kakashi sent the dogs that had been spread out through the house back home and descended the stairs. He entered the kitchen to the sound of laughter which died at his appearance.

“Hatake, I-” Granger started.

“It is fine, Granger-san,” Kakashi interrupted, wanting to skip the whole awkward mess. “I shall phrase my words better next time so there is no misunderstanding.”

Weasley was ignoring the harsh elbows jabbing into his sides as he glared down at his plate.

“But Ron-”

“Kakashi, join us for Christmas lunch!” Black spoke over Granger, tapping the space next to him.

Kakashi joined the rest of the room in shooting the man confused looks.

“I am fine, Black-san. I can go wait-”

“Nonsense,” Weasley-san shook her head, guiding Kakashi to the seat with a firm hand on his shoulder. “No one should be alone on Christmas and there is plenty food to go around.”

Kakashi hopelessly scanned the food on the table to the snickering of the twins.

“Can’t escape Mum when she’s on a mission.”

“Or when she’s armed with a wooden spoon.”

“Hatake, can we call you Kakashi?”

He looked up at Granger, who still looked faintly guilty.

“I thought I’d ask since you don’t seem like you’d be comfortable with it if we just started and you call all of us by our surnames and I know it’s a cultural thing-”

“Breathe, ‘Mione,” Weasley paused his inhaling of his potatoes to poke her with his fork. “And I didn’t mean it yesterday.” His eyes darted in Kakashi’s direction.

Kakashi considered it, realising that the entire table had stopped eating to hear the answer.

“If you wish, Granger-san,” he shrugged, plopping some chicken on his plate under the watchful eye of Weasley-san and nodding toward the ginger teen.

The whole of Konoha and a good chunk of the other countries called him by his first name, anyway. He had insisted at the beginning of the school term but with each student that used his first name, it was a losing battle. It was not as big a deal as it was back then and if it stopped Granger looking at him like she kicked Pakkun then it was a small price to pay.

“Merry Christmas, Kakashi!”

After Granger, the table chorused the greeting before eating resumed. Kakashi stared down at his plate for a moment before reaching to take his necklace off.

“Merry Christmas.”

He still had a heavy accent but his English was coming along. He placed his necklace back on and looked up, hiding his surprise at the shocked stares.

“You’re learning English?” Granger blurted out.

Kakashi nodded, staring as Weasley threw up his hands.

“Great, so not only is he top of our whole year but he’s doing it two languages!”

He had not been expecting this reaction. He just wanted to try out this phrase that had been thrown about for the last month. Neville had been delighted when Kakashi had spoken whole sentences to him last month.

He really should be keeping his distance whenever he could, though; he had to focus on his objectives, not get caught up in _feelings_. It was unprofessional.

The time to leave could not come soon enough and thankfully today, they did not have to take the underground death boxes. It was still awful, piling into the above ground death traps they had taken to Kings Cross Station before, but could have been a lot worse. There was little he could think that was worse than the underground. He did not even have to _henge_ and finally they entered a room to find Weasley-san finishing his own lunch.

Kakashi stood to the back of the room as the family exchanged greetings and gifts, Moody’s Byakugan trained on him the entire time. A man in one of the beds was watching Potter and Weasley family but as far as Kakashi had assessed, there was no threat and Kakashi had placed himself in an optimal spot to intervene if the unlikely happened. As far as he could tell, the man was more wistful than anything.

“No visitors?”

The man jolted in surprise, taking a moment to process that Kakashi was speaking to him.

“No,” he said slowly. “My family want nothing to do with me.”

“Why?”

The man gave him a strange look.

“I’m a werewolf.”

“A man who turns into a wolf on a full moon?” Kakashi asked, sure he had read as much in one of his textbooks.

“Yes?” It sounded like a question.

“That is only one day. Why are they not here for the other days of the month?”

The man was quiet for a moment, his mouth wavering open and closed. Kakashi glanced back to check on Potter before turning back as the man spoke up.

“You really don’t have a problem with me being a werewolf?”

Kakashi shook his head. It seemed obvious to him. Just like he would never blame Minato-sensei’s son for containing the Kyūbi, he could not see how this man was to blame for an uncontrollable condition he was inflicted with through no fault of his own. He idly wondered how little Naruto was getting on; maybe he should drop in on the kid when he got back for Sensei’s sake.

An argument between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley reached him.

“It is not your fault and if your family and friends actually cared about you, they would know that,” Kakashi called behind him as walked towards the Weasleys.

He completely missed the awed stare the patient shot at his back. Lupin walked past him towards the man and he missed the additional looks from Lupin after the pair spoke.

As Kakashi vaguely registered the argument was about stitches, he spotted Potter leaving and followed him. As Weasley was insulted by a painting for his freckles, Kakashi clarified with the youngest Weasley.

“Your mother is angry because your father had stitches?”

“Yeah, Dad is always trying out Muggle things. She just isn’t happy that he decided to play around with his health this time.”

“You do not have stitches in your medical system?”

She paused.

“You do?”

“Is this the fifth floor?” Granger spoke up.

“No, the fourth,” Potter replied.

“Bloody hell, Professor Lockhart!”

The group turned to a blond man who was wandering the corridor; he smiled at them and began offering autographs, his elegant blue quill at odds with his pale rumpled dressing gown. Kakashi hung back as Potter spoke to the man, watching his movements carefully. The quill would not be an effective weapon but he could have others on his person. He checked the kunai and shuriken he had hidden to make sure they were still in easy reach. A nurse finally came and led the man back to his room and the group awkwardly followed.

Kakashi tuned out the conversation as he assessed each of the occupants. None were in peak physical condition but that did not mean they were incapable of doing any damage. He himself had taken out an Iwa team with a broken leg and a concussion; he remembered waking up hours later with Minato-sensei hovering over him while lying in a pool of blood and vomit.

“Oh, Mrs. Longbottom, are you leaving already?”

Kakashi head snapped towards the sound before scanning the room to find Neville. He spotted the boy hunched beside a strange-looking old woman; he could feel the misery radiating from the boy from here.

“Hey, Neville! Lockhart’s here! Who’re you visiting?”

Weasley bounded over to them, the others training behind and Kakashi rolled his eyes, moving to join them. Neville perked up slightly at the sight of him but at the glare from his grandmother, immediately wilted.

“Friends of yours, Neville?” the woman sneered.

A flush made its way to Neville’s plump face and Kakashi glared back at the old woman.

“Yes, I suppose they are,” she answered her own question. “Harry Potter, the Weasleys and Hermione Granger, correct?”

This drew a round of agreements from the group before her eyes narrowed in on Kakashi.

“And you’re the foreigner in Gryffindor this year, Kakashi Hatake.”

“I am,” he gritted out.

“He’s told me all about you all. He’s a good boy but doesn’t have a lick of his father’s talent,” she sniffed. “He tries but always fall short somehow.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Kakashi spoke up.

This drew a glare from the awful woman and Neville unfurl himself slightly to stare wide-eyed at him.

“And what would you know of my grandson?”

“I know that he is better than you think he is.”

“How dare-”

“So Neville, what brings you here?” Weasley spoke loudly, glancing at Kakashi.

Neville’s grandmother turned to the boy.

“You haven’t told you friends about your parents? Are you ashamed? You have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing!” she thundered. “You should be proud! Your parents do not deserve this; for their only son to be ashamed of them!”

“I’m not ashamed,” Neville stated quietly, but his relative had moved on.

“My son and his wife were tortured to insanity by You-Know-Who’s followers!”

As the group fell into a horrified silence, Kakashi looked at Neville, memories from Potter’s trial flashing through his mind. His grandmother continued on to sing their praises but Kakashi kept his eyes on Neville. The boy had tuned out the woman and was gazing sadly at the two beds. He held out his hand as his mother tottered over and dropped a sweetie wrapper into his hand. Kakashi just barely caught the ‘Thanks Mum’ before Neville’s grandmother began to drag Neville out of the ward.

A moment of silence followed before it was broken by Granger.

“I never knew.”

“Me either,” Weasley whispered.

“Nor me.” Weasley wiped a tear from her eye.

“It was Bellatrix Lestrange,” Potter spoke up, still staring in the direction that Neville had left. “It’s why she went to Azkaban.”

Kakashi pushed down his anger and started herding the shocked teenagers out of the ward and back towards the Weasley family.

* * *

It was quiet as the family returned from the hospital and Kakashi wanted nothing more than to escape upstairs and check over security again.

“Hey, Kakashi.”

He turned to see Lupin and Black holding some candles.

“We’re going to light some candles for our loved ones if you want to join. Since you can’t go home and it’s your tradition and all.”

Lupin was looking at him differently now. He had no idea what had happened since lunch and now but there was a consideration within his gaze that was not present before. Kakashi weighed his options before reluctantly turning back into the living room, Pakkun’s words echoing in his mind. He took a red candle from Black and went to stand against the wall.

“Is there a traditional way to do this?” Lupin asked.

“You have a candle for each person you have lost but there are not enough so just one will do. You state who you have lost, light the candle, say a prayer and set the candle on a windowsill until it burns itself out.”

“Is that it?” Black spoke up.

“Most light and set the candles on the grave marker of the deceased but I thought the window would be easier.”

“Not enough room,” Weasley-san spoke up, as she held a green candle. “The fireplace should have enough room and not set the place on fire.”

“Who wants to start?”

No one spoke for a moment.

“I guess I can start us off,” Black grinned, although it was brief. “This is for James and Lily and my brother Regulus.”

His grin had vanished as he lit the black candle with his wand and placed it in the fire place.

“I’m not one for prayer,” he weakly joked.

“This is for James and Lily, my parents and my friend, Elizabeth,” Lupin stated quietly, lighting his own brown candle and placing it in the fireplace.

Each of the Weasleys and Hermione repeated these actions, Moody having long left, and finally only Potter and Kakashi were left.

“This is for my parents, for every single person killed by Voldemort and for Cedric Diggory,” Potter said solemnly, lighting his white candle from Black’s wand and placing it in the hearth.

Everyone turned to Kakashi and he knelt in front of the fireplace, the multiple little lights reflecting against the varnished wood. He went through his names silently, the faces of his team flashing through his head as he’d last seen them, bloody and in pain. His parent’s bodies appeared in his thoughts; his mother’s emancipated on her sickbed and his father’s in a pool of his own blood in their kitchen. Numerous comrades lost in the wars dashed across his closed eyelids.

He lit the candle with a small _katon_ jutsu and placed it among the rainbow already lit. He bowed his head and clasped his hands, sending a prayer to them. A weight lifted off him slightly and he felt a flash of regret for avoiding this since Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee died. Next year, he would stay in Konoha for the festival and do it properly. After a long moment, he opened his eyes and stood. Struck by the silence he looked around at the stunned faces.

“Thanks, Kakashi,” Black smiled softly. “I think this is a brilliant Christmas tradition.”

Kakashi just nodded and still unnerved, left the room to finally begin his security checks.

* * *

Harry was losing once again to Ron at chess as his mind lingered over thoughts of Kakashi. The shinobi had disappeared again over the past few days since Christmas although Harry knew he was technically around Grimmauld Place somewhere.

In his mind he could still see the shinobi knelt in front of the fireplace, head bowed and hands clasped in prayer. It’s an image that somehow both did and did not fit the man; it was so silent and respectful and unexpected. When Kakashi had described the Rinne festival to him back in the Room of Requirement it had sounded like a good idea although tinged with sadness. Watching the shinobi actually show them the meaning of the festival himself had brought a new layer of meaning to the process. Harry hadn’t realised there was so much respect and thought attributed to the dead by shinobi.

It had brought up thoughts about how they handled death in Britain. Harry had spoken about his parents with many people, all expressing their condolences, but he had never really had a quiet moment to stop and remember them. The Mirror of Erised was the only time he could think of but that had been tainted by other elements. Death was such a taboo topic in wizarding culture; Cedric was a recent example of this. They had funerals and condolences but after this initial grieving people were so afraid to mention his name or speak about whom he was, the good and the bad. It was like walking around on eggshells. There was so much sadness associated with death that there was no room to remember the joy that those people brought in their life.

Kakashi’s culture didn’t seem to share this. They even had a festival every year to remember those who had passed as they had truly been. Harry really thought he could adopt this tradition into his own life; that quiet moment in front of a candle was the closest he’d ever felt to his parents. Even thinking of Cedric hadn’t brought the usual guilt and fear associated with his memory. It had just been a gentle moment remembering those that had passed, without anyone apologising or asking questions.

Ron knocked over Harry’s queen and leaned over, resting his head on his fist.

“C’mon, Harry. It’s like you’re not even trying.”

“You do seem distracted, Harry,” Hermione agreed from her corner, petting Crookshanks on her lap.

Harry opened his mouth to answer when Mrs. Weasley popped her head into the room.

“Harry, dear, Professor Snape is in the kitchen. He’d like a word with you.”

“Snape?” Harry asked, confused.

“Professor Snape, dear,” Mrs. Weasley admonished. “He says he can’t stay long, so come on now.”

Her head disappeared and Harry turned to exchange a bewildered look with Ron and Hermione, before scrabbling to get to the kitchen. As he left the bedroom, his heart jumped into his throat as he came face-to-face with Kakashi.

“Bloody hell, Kakashi, you scared the living daylights out of me,” gasped Harry, clasping his chest. “You have got to start making noise when you’re moving about.”

Kakashi didn’t react and peered back at Harry. He couldn’t read the shinobi but Harry imagined that he was unimpressed. Four months in and the guy still gave absolutely nothing away. He didn’t quite have the empty, dead eyes he’d had when they had first met but now it was more comparable to a steel wall. There was something there but there was also no way in hell Kakashi would let them see what.

“Snape is here to talk to me,” Harry explained, moving past him to start down the stairs. “Don’t know why, it’s not like I’ve done anything wrong.”

Kakashi remained quiet as he followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen. As Harry entered the room, Sirius and Snape were in the midst of an argument.

“...I’m sure you’re frustrated by the fact you’re feeling so _useless_ ,” Snape sneered.

Sirius’s face flushed in anger and he rose to his feet.

“Look here, _Snivellus_ , I-”

“Uh...” Harry looked between the two men.

“Potter, sit down.”

Snape nodded at one of the chairs, sparing a look of distain at Kakashi as the shinobi stood by the door. Harry quickly took his seat.

“Dumbledore wishes you to learn Occlumency this term, Potter, and I am to be your instructor.”

Harry was about to ask what the hell Occlumency was and if it absolutely necessary that Snape had to be the one to teach it but Sirius cut in.

“Why you? Why can’t Dumbledore teach Harry?”

“It’s his privilege to delegate less desirable tasks to those below him, I suppose,” Snape drawled. “Now, Potter, you-”

“Wait, what is Occlumency?” Harry blurted out. “Why do I need to learn it?”

Snape took a long moment to frown at him before sighing.

“Occlumency, Potter, is the magical defence of the mind against external penetration. You will learn it because the headmaster is telling you to.”

Snape stood and smoothed down his robes.

“You will not tell anyone and if anyone asks, you are taking remedial potions. Anyone who has seen a potion of yours cannot deny you need them. Be at my office at six o’clock on Monday evening. Do not be late.”

Harry processed the information, the dread only growing stronger.

“I’ll make it clear, Snivellus, if you’re using these lessons to make things even harder for Harry, you’ll answer to me,” Sirius stood, towering over Snape in height.

“Is that so, Black?” Snape mocked, a hand firmly gripping his wand. “I imagine that would be difficult to do when you’re here in your little hidey-hole, wouldn’t it?”

Sirius raised his wand and Snape’s rose in quick response. Panic shot through Harry and he sprung out of his seat. He didn’t manage to take even a step before a firm hand pressed his shoulder back and Kakashi stood in front of him.

“Are you calling me a coward?” roared Sirius.

“I suppose I am,” said Snape nonchalantly, although Harry could see that his hand had gone white with the grip on his wand.

Harry didn’t want to think of what could have happened next but it was irrelevant. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi vanished and reappeared with two wands in his left hand and a knife held out the other. Harry’s eyes snapped up to take in Sirius’s and Snape’s shocked faces as their brains took a moment to catch up to what had just happened.

“What the hell, Kakashi?” Sirius frowned, confusion taking the place of anger as he looked at his wand in Kakashi’s hand.

“Give it back, Hatake.” Snape held out a hand, his scowl somehow having deepened.

Kakashi stared at them both for a moment longer before storing the knife with a flick of his hand. He transferred one wand to his other hand but did not hand them over.

“C’mon man, why did you even take them?” Sirius was now holding out his own hand.

“My mission objective is to protect Potter. You threatened that.”

Sirius recoiled at Kakashi’s words, throwing a guilty look at Harry.

“My wand.”

Kakashi handed Snape’s wand over and the professor tucked it away.

“Six o’clock, Monday evening, Potter.”

He swept past them and out the kitchen door. Silence reigned over the kitchen until the door burst open, admitting the entire Weasley family.

“Cured!” announced Mr. Weasley, his smile wide. “Completely cured!”

Harry smiled weakly back.

“That’s...that’s great, Arthur,” Sirius spoke up, his smile even weaker than Harry’s. “Great news.”

“Why do you have Sirius’s wand?” Mr. Weasley asked Kakashi, his smile falling.

Kakashi handed the wand back to Sirius.

“He dropped it.”

Mr. Weasley looked over to Sirius in doubt to see the man nodding.

“Yeah, I, uh, I dropped it and Kakashi picked it up for me.”

“Oh,” said Mr. Weasley.

Kakashi left the room and Harry stared after him, the conversation starting up around him.

* * *

Time passed quickly and it was the night before they were due to depart for Hogwarts. Kakashi had already packed and checked the house over twice. The rest of the students were still packing their trunks, preferring to leave everything to the last minute. Kakashi did not understand this thinking but as long as Potter was ready to go the next morning he would leave them to it.

He passed silently through the house to make his way to the kitchen. He avoided the loud commotion in the bedrooms which sounded more like a party than any sort of packing. He came to a stop as he saw Weasley-san bustling around the stove and decided he was better off returning to his room to pass the time. Just as he turned to leave, Weasley-san called out.

“Wait, Hatake.”

He stopped and suppressing a sigh, turned.

She was watching with an unreadable expression, a hand on her hip. She pointed to a seat at the kitchen table with her other hand and Kakashi took the instruction, sliding into the seat. It was a very different arrangement than the last time he had been at Grimmauld Place but as he had learned at Hogwarts, while he was under no mission obligations to follow their instructions it didn’t exactly hurt him to do so.

He had not exactly relaxed, but he had realised that he could keep to the mission parameters and objectives while avoiding antagonizing everyone in his vicinity. He did not have to act like a student here like he did at Hogwarts; but while he was in their presence, he also did not have to recycle the same lines.

“Tea?”

He stared at her dubiously for a moment before slowly nodding. He had mostly been raiding the kitchen when no one had been around and so had avoided uncomfortable meals like their ‘Christmas Day’.

She placed a cup in front of him and Kakashi peered in. They favoured a form of black tea here and Kakashi found he preferred it strong, bitter and without any of the extras that the wizards tended to add. It was no green tea but it was okay. Weasley-san had prepared it exactly how he liked it.

He took a taste and swirled it around his mouth. No poison. He deemed it safe and took a longer drink. Looking up, Weasley-san was staring at him.

“I remember your boggart, you know.”

Kakashi set down his cup a little harder than he intended. So this was an ambush. Flashes of her face, filled with horror and pity, pushed its way to the forefront of his mind.

“I remember because it was the same as mine.”

His head snapped up as Weasley-san turned, stirring something that smelled sickly sweet in a pan.

“My boggart is my family, all dead. One after another, all dead in some bloody and horrible way.” Her hand shook as it stirred. “It’s partly why I was so against someone like you being around them. There’s nothing to stop you turning around and killing them all except a flimsy piece of paper.”

The tea sat heavily in Kakashi’s stomach and he pushed the rest away.

“Your boggart was like mine. People one after another, all dead; except with you I don’t think it’s just a fear.”

Weasley-san turned and pierced Kakashi with an intelligence usually hidden by her motherly demeanour.

“I don’t think they were your victims either.”

Kakashi weighed the pros and cons of just leaving the room.

“I’m telling you this because I have seen you around the children during the holidays. I don’t think you would hurt them, even without your contract.” She left the wooden spoon to continue stirring itself and sat across from him. “So I’m going to ask you a favour.”

He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.

“Protect them all, not just Harry. Protect my children and Hermione too.” She levelled her gaze at him. “Voldemort is back and I remember the last war. I remember losing many friends. I remember losing my brothers. I don’t want to visit the graves of my children.”

Kakashi stared back into her calm brown eyes. He considered her words and he understood. Individuals like him were unknown to these people; they were basically just told why he was there and that he killed people. Not exactly a reassuring introduction. He had not done much to help himself either.

“Of course, Weasley-san.”

She held his gaze for a moment longer before nodding once and rising out of her stead, turning back to the stove.

“Call down everyone for some pudding, then.”

Kakashi slipped silently out of the kitchen to pass on Weasley-san’s words and return to his room. The tea was left to grow cold.


	22. Compromise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something big finally gets revealed in this chapter so I hope you enjoy!

Kakashi’s breath puffed white through his mask in the brisk morning air as he watched the students say their goodbyes. His eyes meet briefly with Weasley-san’s and suddenly the door slammed shut, a heavily-disguised Tonks shooing the group down towards the pavement.

Lupin threw his arm out towards the road and Kakashi held in a groan at the large, purple box that swerved violently to land in front of them. Would it kill them to walk somewhere, just once?

“Welcome to the-” A thin young man jumped off to greet them but Tonks cut him off.

“Yes, yes, we know,” she waved her hand dismissively. “Right everyone, get on. Let’s go, get a shift on.”

Kakashi overheard Weasley whisper to Potter that he had always wanted to go on this contraption. For the life of him, Kakashi could not figure out why. It was crammed full of chairs and an awful smelling concoction had been spilled on the floor. It was not as crowded as the underground death box but Kakashi was still displeased at the number of potential threats in close proximity to his wards.

“We’ll have to split up,” Tonks frowned. “Ginny, Fred and George, you go with Remus up to the back. The rest follow me.”

Kakashi took up the rear as they climbed the stairs to the highest level. Potter and Weasley took the two seats at the front and Kakashi moved to stand at the wall beside them. He dropped his bag to the ground and put a foot through his duffle bags handles to secure it. He applied chakra to his feet and the part of his back in contact with the wall; judging by how this thing had arrived, it would be necessary.

As they started moving, Kakashi quickly dumped his coins into the man’s waiting hands and shoved the piece of paper into his pocket. He watched Potter and Weasley do the same and after a long moment, there was a loud BANG and everything in the bus flew backwards. Kakashi watched the chaos in amusement, his hands tucked in his pockets. Weasley struggled to pick himself up from the floor as Potter grasped desperately to an attachment on the wall. Weasley’s owl escaped his cage and flew to the back to sit on Granger’s shoulder.

Just as Weasley had managed to crawl back onto his seat, there was another load BANG and everything shot backwards once again.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Weasley groaned. “I hate this bloody thing.”

“It’s ‘Ogwarts after this,” the man said cheerily, leaning casually against the front window. “We’re just lettin’ Madame Marsh off first since she’s no feelin’ ‘er best.”

Kakashi could faintly hear the sound of vomit hitting the floor. The man disappeared and Kakashi turned to see both Potter and Weasley staring at him.

“Why aren’t you being flung about?” Potter frowned.

“Magic,” Kakashi shrugged.

“One day,” Weasley muttered. “One day, we’re going to catch him reacting to something like a normal human being. He’s going to fall over or swear or forget something and we’re going to be there to see it. We’ll get Colin to take pictures.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be protecting me or whatever?” Potter growled, picking up his chair again as the box picked up speed. “Doesn’t that mean stopping me from getting flung across a bus like a ragdoll?”

“I thought you did not need a guard.”

“I’m willing to make an exception for the Knight Bus.”

“It won’t kill you.”

Kakashi suppressed a chuckle at the groan he received in response. The bus made one final, loud BANG and they were passing gently through a snow-covered Hogsmeade. As they came to a stop outside Hogwarts, Kakashi released the chakra holding him in place and eagerly followed Potter off the contraption. While entertaining, he still would rather never set foot on one of these things again.

“Hatake, you’re to report to Dumbledore tonight,” Tonks called out to him before she boarded the bus with Lupin.

Kakashi hefted his duffle bag up onto his shoulder and watched the students around him struggle with their trunks. Time to betray his country in the name of the mission.

* * *

Rinri shifted from foot-to-foot as she stood in the headmaster’s office, the two men in the office with her talking quietly and ignoring her presence. The headmaster was dressed his ridiculous purple robes and her employer was leaned over the desk, in a black pin-stripe suit unsuitable for the winter cold. She shivered just looking at him, even wrapped up in her thick green jumper.

It had been a quiet holiday. She had been put up in an inn and other than occasional forays into the Ministry for intel, she had been confined to her room the whole time. She only left for meals. She had managed to procure some candles to light for her very own little Rinne Festival but it had felt strange to celebrate without her family. Even with the war going on, her family had always made it a point to have a big meal, visit the shrines and join their village in the streets to release the lanterns.

It had been a big change, going from a colourful and lively festival to four brown walls and a cold lumpy dinner. It was necessary for the mission though. She would do anything for her village.

The door creaked open behind her and she looked back to see the Konoha scum enter the room. He dumped his bag to one side and came to stand beside her. Rinri glared up at him before a loud cough drew her gaze to the front of the room.

“Harry got here in one piece then, Kakashi?” the headmaster asked.

Her employer next to him straightened and scanned the copy-nin.

“Yes, Dumbledore-sama.” His voice was just as dead as his team. “He is in the Gryffindor dorm with a clone.”

“Very good.” The old man nodded to himself and leaned back in his chair. “We can get this sorted out then.”

He lifted one hand to indicate the man next to him.

“This is Edward Stonewall and he is here as a representative of the Magical Congress of the United States of America,” said Dumbledore. “He is also the one who hired Miss Rin Ishihara and placed her in my school.”

“I’m sorry again about that, Albus,” Stonewall frowned, his dark eyes pensive. “You know why we had to do it.”

Dumbledore nodded.

“I do; now we have to get everyone here on the same page.”

Dumbledore glanced at the copy-nin and he stepped forward like the perfect little soldier he was.

“I hired Kakashi Hatake to protect Harry Potter and Hogwarts during the school year due to the resurrection of Voldemort,” Dumbledore explained. “He has been posing as a student and has apprehended a Death Eater already this year.”

“Really?” Stonewall shot Hatake a considering look. “We have heard rumours of about that old snake coming back but that’s a Britain problem.”

The copy-nin stepped back and Rinri stepped forward this time at a beckoning from Stonewall.

“This is Rinri Ishida, although for the purpose of this mission she has been going by Rin Ishihara. She was placed here to investigate Dolores Umbridge. The reason we didn’t tell anyone,” he paused to glance at the headmaster, “is because the British Ministry refuses to cooperate with us in this investigation and we couldn’t take the chance that Hogwarts would do the same.”

“We have been finding issues with the Ministry ourselves in terms of handling Voldemort,” Dumbledore nodded.

“Dolores Umbridge was an envoy to our government as part of the British Department of International Magical Cooperation several years ago. After she came back to this country, incidents started coming to light from her time with us. I can’t disclose the full details of these cases as they are classified but there have been numerous violations of the rights of intelligent magical creatures, evidence of obliviation and theft of intellectual property. These are very serious crimes but due to her position in the British government, we can’t accuse her outright.”

Stonewall turned to look at her.

“That’s why we sent Ishida. If Umbridge committed these crimes before, she will commit more in the future. She’s here to gather evidence of foul play and criminal activity in both Hogwarts and the Ministry that we are going to add to our case against her. If we can get evidence of crimes in this country, we know we can pressure the Ministry to stop protecting her.”

Dumbledore clapped his hands.

“Now we’ve got that cleared up we can focus on the incidents that have occurred between you at Hogwarts this year.”

Rinri cringed slightly at the memories.

“The first incident was after your detention with Umbridge, Kakashi?”

“Yes, Dumbledore-sama.” She hated his voice. “Ishida engaged after identifying me but retreated quickly after. After I reported to you, she ambushed me outside Gryffindor Tower. I led her away from populated areas and managed her until she disengaged due to the risk to her cover.”

Managed her? Managed HER?

As the room stared at her, Rinri realised she had said that out loud. Maybe her friends had a point when they had told her to work on her temper before this mission.

“Kakashi is under orders not to hurt or kill any students,” Dumbledore spoke up. “Although we did not know your purpose here at the time, you did count as a student and his purpose was to contain you.”

Rinri didn’t know whether to be insulted or horrified. She had been unimpressed with him; she had really thought he ran away because of _her_.

“And why did you engage Hatake, Ishida?”

Rinri didn’t look at her employer. They had been through this before when she had been ordered to stay away from him.

“He’s from Konoha,” she said quietly, as if that explained everything.

In her eyes, it did.

The two men exchanged a look she couldn’t quite read.

“The next incident was Kakashi attacking Rinri outside of the Potions classroom,” the headmaster moved on. “Kakashi, explain why.”

“The Iwa nin used the name ‘Rin’ as her cover. I was... angry that Iwa would use my teammate’s name for something as petty as to provoke me.”

Confusion clouded Rinri’s mind.

“But it’s just my name?”

She finally spotted the first crack in the copy-nin’s armour. His shoulders rose slightly in what she was sure was ‘oh no, I have forever shamed myself through my own stupidity’.

“It was decided I would use a shortened version of my name before I even knew you would be here. Plus why would we care about Nohara? Kiri killed her off.”

Hatake shot a heated glare at her out the corner of his eye. Rinri smiled back.

“Okay, so the root of these issues is that you,” Stonewall pointed to the copy-nin, “are from Konoha and you,” he pointed at her, “are from Iwa. Am I getting this right?”

“From what I have gathered, their countries were at war until two years ago,” nodded Dumbledore.

Stonewall pinched the bridge of his nose. His usually smooth black skin with creased in a heavy frown. Rinri took this moment to snarl at the copy-nin next to her. He didn’t react but it did make her feel a bit better.

“Who won?” her employer sighed, dropping his hand to secure his black hair at the base of his neck.

“Why does that matter?” she demanded.

“Konoha,” Hatake answered at the same time.

“Okay,” said Stonewall. “So Ishida has the extra issue of being the losing side.”

Before Rinri had time to be offended, the man had moved on.

“Can you two be civil with each other for the rest of the school year?”

Rinri spent a few moments stomping down the instinctive refusal that rose to her tongue. If her village ever found out she worked with _Sharingan no Kakashi_ and didn’t kill him, they might disown her. At the same time though, if she came home without this pay-check they definitely would disown her.

Her village literally couldn’t afford for her to fail. If she didn’t do this then they wouldn’t allow her to take the jounin exams when she got back either. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she glanced over at Hatake. Surprisingly, there was genuine discontent showing on what little of his face was bare. He seemed just as disgusted at the thought of working together as she was. It made the lump go down a bit easier; at least he was miserable too.

“Yes, I can.”

“Yes, Stonewall-san.”

“Okay, good.” Stonewall looked back at the headmaster. “Albus?”

The old man slowly stood and scanned them both.

“You will each continue with your respective missions and report back to your respective employer. There will be circumstances where there will be overlap and you will have to work together. If you get information that would be useful for the other’s mission, please pass it on. I don’t think it needs to be said that there will be no more incidents.”

“Kakashi, when Harry has his Occlumency lessons you are not to be present. You may drop him off and pick him up from outside the room. Rinri, this has already been communicated to Kakashi but there is no lethal force to be used on death eaters. You are to subdue and detain only.”

She shot a look of confusion at the copy-nin and got a tired shrug in return. She may have hated his guts but he was the only one who would understand how insane that last order was. No lethal force? On enemies? Weren’t they supposed to be at war or something? Did they want to lose? Were these wizards serious?

Rinri bowed slightly as they were dismissed. Hatake picked up his bag and they exited, down the stone steps and into the corridor. She turned to head back to the Slytherin common room but paused, turning to look at Hatake’s retreating back.

“Hey.”

Hatake stopped but didn’t turn.

“For the record, I hate you and hope you die,” she stated without preamble. “But no one back home can ever know about this.”

She started to walk to the common room again when she heard an “agreed” reach her. She spun around but he was gone.

* * *

Kakashi dumped his bag on his bed, the meeting swirling around in his head. Ishida was right; no one in Konoha could ever find out he had worked with an Iwa nin. He was more than used to doing unspeakable acts for his village, but this was a new one.

He dismissed the clone that had been following Potter and made his way back down the stairs, crossing over to the couches by the fireplace.

“Kakashi!”

He turned to see Neville walking towards him. The other boy grinned widely at him and held out a badly-wrapped, lumpy brown package. Kakashi stared at it for a moment before taking it slowly.

“I meant to give this to you before the holidays but you weren’t on the train and then when I saw you on Christmas I didn’t have it with me so here it is,” Neville trailed off at the end.

Kakashi tore at the brown paper to reveal an old magnifying glass. It was old but well-maintained; made of varnished oak handle and polished glass, it had obviously been well-loved before this. Neville pointed at it excitedly.

“It took me ages but I finally figured out the right charm! It’s an old Longbottom heirloom so the spell should stick too. I figured that the translation spell you have will wear out so when you look through this at English, you’ll see it in Japanese!”

Neville looked so proud of himself.

“I got McGonagall to check my spell work so you don’t have to worry about me messing it up either.”

Kakashi’s head snapped up to look at his friend.

“I would never worry about that.”

Neville’s smile softened at his words and Kakashi continued.

“Thank you, Neville.” He bowed slightly at the waist. “I will treasure this for as long as I live.”

The Gryffindor started to look a bit overwhelmed so Kakashi moved on.

“Your gift will arrive shortly. There have been issues procuring it.”

He had not actually planned on getting anyone a present but Neville deserved better after such a thoughtful gift.

“You don’t have to get me-”

Kakashi cut Neville off with a pointed look.

“Besides, I’m sure you got way better gifts staying with Harry and Ron and them for Christmas, anyway.” The boy changed tactics.

Kakashi tilted his head at his friend in confusion as realisation dawned on the Gryffindor.

“Wait, they didn’t get you anything? But you stayed with them for Christmas!” His voice rose and Thomas and Finnegan appeared.

“What’s this?” Finnegan asked, throwing Kakashi a purple packet.

Kakashi caught it in his free hand.

“Sour sweets, since you hate the actual sweet stuff,” Finnegan said in way of explanation as Thomas handed him a small box.

“Bertie’s Bott’s Every Flavour Beans,” Thomas shrugged. “Kind of a tradition for our dorm at Christmas.”

Kakashi stared at the three boys with his arms full, bewildered.

“Harry and Ron didn’t get Kakashi anything for Christmas!” Neville scowled. “No one else did either. He stayed with them for the holidays!”

“Seriously?” Finnegan grimaced. “That’s a dick move.”

“Yeah,” Thomas nodded.

Kakashi looked between them. He was not sure what the issue was. Honestly, he had not been expecting anyone to get him anything. He did not belong here and would not be here for much longer. He was not exactly the most forthcoming or sociable either.

“Thank you, Finnegan, Thomas.” He nodded his head towards them. “Thank you all for your concern and your gifts but it is unnecessary. I am merely a visitor and my presence here is temporary. Please do not speak to them concerning this.”

He spotted the twins in the corner of the room and bid his goodbyes to the three Gryffindors. As he walked up to them, they smirked at the items in his hold.

“Rob a first year or something?” Fred asked.

“Nah, has to be at least third year,” George continued.

“I need you to procure a book for me.”

Kakashi placed his gifts gently onto the table beside them, making sure to stay close. He pulled out some parchment from his pocket and wrote out the title with his ink brush, allowing it a moment to dry before handing it to George. He had seen this volume mentioned in his studies; Neville would love it.

“And why would we do this?” Fred peered over his brother’s shoulder to see the page. “This won’t be easy to get. This is ‘Borgin and Burkes’ kind of stuff.”

“I aided you in attaining items from Filch’s office last term,” said Kakashi, gathering up his gifts carefully into his arms once more. “I can make sure those items and more reappear by morning.”

The twins exchanged a look before Fred grinned at him.

“You drive a hard bargain, Kakashi, but I believe you have yourself a deal.”

“By the end of the week,” Kakashi threw behind him as he turned to walk back up to the dorms.

Multiple swears reached him just before he reached the stairs and he smiled to himself. It would be a good challenge for them. He entered the dorm and crossed over to gently place his gifts in his bag where they would be safe. Brushing his hand over the magnifying glass for a mere moment, he quickly hid and secured his bag and went back downstairs.

* * *

Kakashi sat beside Neville the next morning at breakfast, thinking over the events of the evening before and rubbing his bared face absentmindedly. It was strange to have to go without his mask one again after a glorious month of never taking it off. It was disconcerting but Kakashi knew he could live with it, even if he would never truly get used to it. Once he got back to Konoha though, he was never taking it off again. He might even wear a second one underneath just in case.

Occlumency had not gone well judging by Potter’s report. Dumbledore must truly trust Snape for him to order Kakashi to stay away but the further constrictions to his mission parameters were starting to feel like a noose. One wrong step and the whole mission could be swept out from under him; all his work up until now rendered meaningless.

Potter’s lesson may, however, have borne fruit; the development in the Department of Mysteries could prove useful later. The tactical part of him whispered that he could ask Ishida about it as she had been going to Ministry often but the larger, Konoha part of him crushed that idea immediately. It was not pertinent to his primary objective to protect Potter or his secondary to protect Hogwarts; he did not have to do a thing. The lessons were apparently needed judging by Potter’s fit in the dorm, though. He would have to keep a closer eye on that situation.

The mail arrived and Kakashi scanned over a missive from the Hokage. The security concerns had been registered and he was to report to the espionage and intelligence branch with his findings when he got back. No sending information through this communication system. He internally groaned at the thought of having to write about this shit show; he would just have to emphasise how awful Dumbledore was. The Hokage had added a note at the end of the scroll asking Kakashi to send a letter to Gai. He could picture the spandex-clad jounin pestering their village leader and shuddered; no one should be inflicted with that. He will do that later.

A yelp came from Granger, and Kakashi joined the rest of the table in staring at her. She slammed the newspaper on the table and pointed out an article. Kakashi could not make out all the English but judging how pale everyone’s faces became, it was not good. He quickly grabbed it as the trio began whispering furiously and tapped his necklace on it.

_MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN_

_MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS ‘RALLYING POINT_

_FOR OLD DEATH EATERS’_

Potter grabbed the paper out of his hand and stared angrily at it for a moment before thrusting it back. Kakashi changed the language and Potter jerked it back, resuming the intense discussion. Kakashi looked over to Neville to see the boy hyperventilating, swearing silently as he glanced back at the paper.

He stood abruptly, dragging Neville up with him. He escorted the boy out of the Great Hall and to Gryffindor Tower; he summoned two _kage bunshins_ , _henged_ into Neville and he sent both off to the History of Magic classroom, following the trio. The common room was empty and Kakashi shoved Neville into the couch in front of the fire place as the boy struggled to get his breathing under control.

“We’re going t-to miss c-class,” he sniffed, wiping an errant tear away.

“No,” Kakashi shook his head. “I have it covered.”

“Really, I’m fine.” Neville stood, but Kakashi pushed him back down. “It was just a shock.”

“You do not need to talk,” said Kakashi, leaning against the fireplace. “You will take this time to process this information and calm yourself; then we will go to our next class.”

Neville stared hopelessly at him for a moment before slumping back in the couch.

“She’s out.”

Kakashi stayed quiet.

“I visit my parents every Christmas. Every summer, every birthday I’m not here, even just days I miss them more than usual.”

Kakashi moved to sit next to the Gryffindor.

“My gran tells me all the time how proud I should be, how brave they were; and I am and they were. But...”

“But that does not change what happened nor the effect on you and them.”

Neville looked at Kakashi in surprise.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Exactly.”

“Sometimes,” Neville continued. “My mum will look at me and I think she sees _me_ , you know, and then it’s gone. I don’t even know if it was really there or if I imagined it because I wanted it to be.”

His fist curled up by his sides.

“And now the person that did that to them is out; is free to do to other parents what she did to mine and other kids will have to spend their Christmas’ in St Mungos.”

Kakashi took a moment himself to collect his thoughts.

“When I was young, it was just my father and I,” he began, drawing Neville’s attention. “He made a decision to save the lives of others that resulted in terrible consequences for the village we lived in. He was shamed for that and in that shame, he fell on his sword.”

“Wait, you mean...?” Neville trailed off in horror.

“I carried the burden of his actions until it led me to the same choice that he had to make; unlike him, I made the wrong one.”

Kakashi turned fully to Neville.

“My point is that you should not be forced to carry the burden of your parents’ fate despite what your grandmother tells you. No one should tell you how to feel about them or how you should be honouring their memory. That is for you to decide.”

He let the corner of his mouth curve up gently. It was easy to talk to Neville. He did not ask questions or pester him on his past or judge him on his mannerisms. The boy did not know his true purpose here but he still appreciated it.

Kakashi himself had not listened to anyone when they had tried to tell him this; Minato-sensei had tried but it had been offset by the attitude he got from the rest of the village over his father’s actions. It had been easier to be ashamed of his father; Neville was already better than him in this respect.

“You are a good son, Neville.”

So much better than he had been; than he was even now. Neville would be absolutely fine. He moved to stand as he heard the faint bustling of the students in the halls but a warm body stopped him. He stopped himself from reaching for a kunai as Neville hugged him. Kakashi left his hands to hang awkwardly at his sides; how long had it been since he’d been hugged? Minato-sensei? Kushina-nee? Long enough that the alarm bells in head were at full volume as the only people this close to him in two years were trying to kill him... or in that awful underground death box.

Neville let go and Kakashi tried not to get away too obviously. He moved an arm’s length away from Neville as they walked to the doorway.

“Thanks, Kakashi.”

Kakashi nodded stiffly.

“Are you...are you okay with your dad now? With what he did? Not the-, I mean the saving lives thing.”

Kakashi considered this. His father’s smiling face appeared in his mind; a nice change from the image of his corpse in their kitchen.

“Yes,” Kakashi pushed open the door. “My friend told me something years ago: those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. I believe my father embodied this.”

The pair walked in a comfortable silence to their next class.

* * *

_Gai,_

_Stop bothering Hokage-sama about me._

_I’m fine and I’ll be home in six months. I’m not doing any of your challenges while I’m on a mission. You still owe me miso soup with eggplant from the last one._

_Don’t get any weirder before I get back._

_Kakashi_


	23. Disparity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A massive THANK YOU to my beta, Hiniwalay, for everything they have done both for me and this story but sadly they are no longer continuing as my beta. They are a massive reason why this story is as good as it is and I will try my best to make sure that the quality doesn't fall in the coming chapters. If it does, please let me know what I can do to fix that.
> 
> There is some explicit language near the end of this chapter, more so than is usual for this story, but once you see who is speaking it will make sense. Just wanted to give you folks a heads up.
> 
> Bold = Japanese

The atmosphere in Hogwarts only continued to darken in the days following the outbreak from the wizard prison. Of what Kakashi had overheard from the students, they seemed have collectively decided that Potter was perhaps telling the truth after all. None dared voice this above a whisper; the halls of the academy were flooded with enough fear and confusion that the stench followed Kakashi everywhere he went.

Dumbledore had not called him in again since the meeting with Stonewall and Ishida but there was something going on with the teachers. They huddled in small groups, speaking just as quietly as their students, and dispersed the moment a child came within range.

It was a strange environment to be in.

During the wars, there was a sombre, grieving air in the village but never this silent fear. Kakashi could remember walking into the jounin lounge one day, looking for Minato-sensei. It was the day after the Battle of Kikyō Pass, near the end of the war. An entire regiment of Konoha shinobi massacred, barely half recovered for burial. The air of that room had almost suffocated him; the anger and grief pressing down on his shoulders until he felt like he could not stand.

He remained standing though; just like every shinobi and kunoichi in his village. The vigil that evening had brought the whole village together and the families of those lost had enough support to last their lifetimes.

Even after the Kyūbi attack, there was fear but it was overshadowed by the sense of purpose and support behind the rebuild. Not that Kakashi had taken a moment to appreciate that; he was so busy trying to take every mission available he hadn’t seen the village being put back together.

Konoha was not one to sit idle in silence in times of trouble and grief; he was not sure the same could be said of wizards. From what he had been able to determine, the vast majority of the student populace and wider wizarding community had done nothing: nothing to address the issue of Voldemort, nothing about the corruption within the Ministry and nothing about the ill treatment of those born to people without magic. The small group Dumbledore had him working with was it.

This realisation from his research had sparked a flicker of pity for Potter; the boy was literally carrying his entire community on his shoulders. Kakashi would never be expected to do that; even with his team gone, he knew he still had Konoha. It did little to fill the raw, gaping hole in his heart that they left behind but he always knew he had a village to back him up, even if it sometimes hurt to be there. Potter did not have that. He had friends but they were just as lost and inexperienced; the adults in his life were unreliable at best.

He followed the boy and his friends to their Care of Magical Creatures class, dreading whatever Hagrid was going to throw at them today. Every single creature they had studied in the class had hated his guts and the feeling was mutual. It did not help that Umbridge had taken to watching over the class with a clipboard and sneer.

They came to Hagrid’s hut and Kakashi hung behind Potter. The large man seemed nervous, skittish as he kept darting his eyes over to the Ministry official. Finally, the last of the class arrived and the man clapped his hand together.

“Today, we’re going to be looking at Crups!”

As Hagrid stepped aside to reveal the creatures, Kakashi stilled as he stared. The six small mammals tumbled over each other in their pen, forked tails wagging.

“Anyone want to come say hello?”

Kakashi was moving before the other students had a chance. Crouching in front of the pen, he offered a hand to one of the closest dogs. She had brown patches that covered her left eye and both ears, with a large one in the middle of her back. Her dark eyes shined as she looked at him and her nose butted into his hand, sniffing deeply. Soon enough, she was propped up against the wall of the pen trying to reach the rest of him in delight. The rest of the pack had noticed and joined in by this point and Kakashi silently sighed in relief.

Even wizard dogs with two tails were still dogs.

“Well, they’ve taken a right shine to you, haven’t they?” Hagrid laughed, but it was weak as his eyes were drawn back to Umbridge.

Kakashi considered the pen for a moment before he stood, stepping over it and sitting in the middle of the squirming canines. He was soon covered and fighting down a smile as he tried to pet as many of them at once as he could manage. Looking up he saw the other students staring at him in shock.

“Mr. Hatake, what do you think you are doing?” Umbridge’s face was starting to turn purple.

Kakashi cocked his head, painting a look of innocent confusion on his face.

“Saying hello.”

Umbridge’s face coloured darker and Kakashi huffed in amusement as the first dog launched herself into his arms, licking his face. He held her securely and rubbed behind her ears, her two tails a blur.

Maybe this class was not so bad.

* * *

Later that week, Kakashi and Thomas were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, the trio in their favourite spot by the fire place. Kakashi tugged his mask a bit more firmly into place; there was nothing they could do about him wearing it while he was not in class.

“Do you think I got the claws symmetrical?”

Thomas shoved his paper over to Kakashi and jabbed his quill at the offending part. Kakashi looked down at the picture and pushed it back after a moment.

“Yes.”

Thomas snatched it back and squinted at it for a moment longer.

“Are you sure? This one seems a bit closer to the head than it should be.”

“It is fine, Thomas-san.”

“C’mon, man. You’re the only one I can ask since you also the only other person with any artistic ability whatsoever.”

“I see no discrepancies with your illustration.”

“Easy for you to say.” He stole Kakashi’s own sketch. “I swear it’s like you’re just putting the creatures into the parchment.”

Kakashi snatched it back and added the last of the gems onto the shell. He really did not see the big deal with his drawings. All he did was copy what he could see; there was no artistic ability, just an eye for detail.

“Ugh, plus after this I have Snape, Binns _and_ McGonagall’s essays. I hate OWL year.”

Kakashi remained quiet as Thomas turned to eye him suspiciously.

“You’ve already done them, haven’t you?”

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask and directed an eye-smile at the other boy. Thomas swore.

“How? When? I don’t even leave things for the last minute and I’m behind. Hell, I think Hermione’s behind right now.”

“Sounds like you’re having fun.”

“Too much fun to be doing homework.”

The twins dumped a large book covered in brown paper on top of Kakashi’s drawing and he frowned. That better not have messed up his Fire Crab; it had taken two hours.

“You order; we deliver.”

Kakashi opened the first page and caught the title. Closing the book, he nodded at the pair.

“Good.”

“A man of few words is our Kakashi.”

“He is indeed, brother mine.”

The twins left after those words and Kakashi lifted the book to the side. He would give it to Neville when he next saw him.

“What sort of deal did you make with the Weasley twins?” Thomas spoke up, watching the book warily.

“A mutually beneficial one.”

“That makes it sound even worse.”

The door to the common room opened and Finnegan entered. Spotting them, he waved cheerily before heading up to the dorms. Kakashi turned back to see Thomas gazing at where Finnegan had disappeared with a wistful longing in his eyes.

Kakashi had seen that look before; in Obito’s eyes when he gazed at Rin when he thought their teammate couldn’t see him. Thomas slowly turned back and met Kakashi’s eye, appearing to realise that he had been seen. The other boy’s eyes widened and he dropped his head, hand reaching for his quill but only managing to knock his ink pot over. Kakashi snatched their drawing off the table before they could be stained.

Thomas melted into his chair and refused to meet his gaze. Kakashi offered the boy his sketch, patiently waiting for him to look up.

“I saw nothing.”

Thomas’s features swamped with gratitude and he pulled out his wand, vanishing the ink. Kakashi placed his drawing back down and they continued to draw in a comfortable silence, occasionally broken by quiet discussion on the finer points of sketching gems.

* * *

Harry dragged his feet to breakfast, trying to suppress a yawn as he slumped onto the bench. The DA meetings had picked up momentum since the Azkaban breakout; everyone was working harder and it was really showing in their results. People were even keeping up with the running that Kakashi had assigned despite the rain and freezing temperatures that the British winter inflicted on them.

Kakashi took a seat beside him and Harry threw a half-hearted glare his way. He knew for a fact that Kakashi slept less than him, even with his nightmares jolting him awake at all hours. Yet somehow he never showed a hint of tiredness or strain; it was worse on their runs when Kakashi didn’t even break a sweat. It was entirely unfair.

As Harry reached for the coffee Neville took a seat across from them, sending a cheery ‘good morning’ to Kakashi and a scowl towards Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry sent a confused frown back at the boy; Neville had been acting weird since they got back from the Christmas holidays.

The other boy was almost silent during the meetings but worked relentlessly on his spell work. He had even lost weight and had stopped paying attention to any injuries he got while training. The improvement he had shown almost unnerved Harry; Neville had picked up the latest Shielding charm almost as fast as Hermione.

Occasionally when Harry looked over to check on him, he saw Neville working on some kind of dodging manoeuvres with Kakashi. Now that he thought about it, Kakashi was really the only person Neville spoke to at the meetings. It was a weird partnership; Harry might even call it friendship if he didn’t know better. Kakashi wasn’t the person they thought he was when they first met was but he was still only there because he was paid to be. Kakashi was warming up to them a bit but as evidenced by the holidays, if the guy had a choice, he would stay far away from them.

Seeing the normally aloof and stern shinobi on the ground covered in Crups though would stick with him for many years to come. So would Umbridge’s face at the sight.

“Neville.”

Harry looked up from staring tiredly into his cup of coffee to see Kakashi offer an object covered in brown paper to Neville.

“Apologies for the delay,” he handed it over with both hands. “Merry Christmas.”

Harry heard Ron choke on a sausage next to him as he kept his wide eyes locked onto the gift. Kakashi got Neville a gift? Why?

“It’s alright,” Neville beamed as he took the package. “Thank you for getting me something at all.”

Kakashi then turned and handed both Dean and Seamus each a scroll of parchment. The pair traded a look before accepting them.

“Thank you both for your consideration.”

The confusion only grew as Harry watched this exchange. What was happening?

“Kakashi! You can’t be serious!”

All eyes snapped towards Neville at his exclamation. He had removed the brown paper to reveal a dark green book with curling black accents sprawled across its surface. Harry couldn’t see the title from his seat but Hermione was leaning over Neville’s shoulder with a look of shock across her face.

“ _One Thousand Poisonous Plants and Fungi: How to Use and Cure_.” She read out. “Where did you get this? It’s not in the library.”

Kakashi shrugged.

“Kakashi and I were talking about belladonna and other stuff in herbology before the holidays,” Neville explained excitedly. “I mentioned this book in passing because it wasn’t in the library but it was referenced in one of our textbooks. I never thought he would get it for me!”

“A book about how to use poisons?” Ron asked dubiously.

“This is amazing!” Neville continued as Ron hadn’t spoken. “This is the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

Kakashi looked at Neville for a moment before nodding, moving to serve himself a cup of tea and a large serving of fruit and eggs. Harry was about to speak up himself when Dean chimed in.

“Kakashi, mate. This can’t be what I think it is.”

“History of Magic notes!” Seamus yelled triumphantly.

“Yeah, but not just notes,” Dean nodded. “This is everything we need for the exam but in bullet points. History has never made so much sense to me.”

“I noticed that you sleep during that class,” Kakashi shrugged. “I thought this would help.”

“Thanks, mate!” Seamus grinned.

“Wait, why are you giving out gifts?” Hermione frowned. “Christmas is over.”

“I was late.”

Harry wasn’t even aware that Kakashi was close enough to anyone to exchange gifts.

“Why are you giving out presents at all?” Ron spoke up. “Normally you only give them out as an exchange.”

“He is,” Neville scowled deeply. “Just because you guys didn’t get him anything doesn’t mean we didn’t.”

Harry opened his mouth but nothing came out. The others had gotten Kakashi something for Christmas? When had that happened?

“Also, that was pretty horrible of you. He stayed with you on Christmas Day and you left him out; did you even let him have Christmas dinner with you? How do you just completely disregard someone like that?”

“Hang on a minute, Neville-”

Dean cut off Ron’s retort.

“It was a pretty bad move,” he said disapprovingly. “He didn’t go home so he had to stay in a foreign country without his family. Least you could have done is got him something for Christmas.”

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Kakashi spent almost the entire Christmas holidays avoiding them and lurking in the shadows of Grimmauld Place. There had been a few moments of genuine conversation but not many considering it had been over the period of a month. Mrs. Weasley had to strong-arm the guy into sitting down with them for Christmas lunch.

It honestly hadn’t even occurred to Harry to get Kakashi anything; he thought of the shinobi as a separate entity to the world of Christmas and presents and tinsel. Kakashi had spoken about the Rinne Festival and they had even lit the candles, but it was still difficult to think of the guy in the context of their Western traditions. Also, when Harry thought about giving gifts he thought of friends and family. He may have accepted that there was more to Kakashi than he first thought, but he didn’t think of him as a friend yet either.

This discussion did bring into perspective the difference that the knowledge of Kakashi’s profession made. Neville, Dean and Seamus didn’t know Kakashi’s real reason for attending Hogwarts; they didn’t see the real him the way that Harry and the Order did back in Grimmauld Place. They just saw him as a weird exchange student; they didn’t know the truth. They were missing so much of the big picture.

This did explain all those dirty looks from Neville since they got back though.

Kakashi rose from his seat, drawing looks from the tension-filled table.

“It is unimportant. I do not celebrate Christmas and therefore do not have the same sentimentality that you do for the event. It is time for class.”

Harry downed his cup of now cold coffee and followed the others to their first class, watching as Neville attached himself to Kakashi’s side. Had that always happened? The new information about his guard swirled around his thoughts.

* * *

February quickly rolled in and Kakashi continued to be unimpressed with the weather. It was so wet here; the rain almost never seemed to stop. It was like Amegakure and Kakashi hated it. Konoha wasn’t like this; they had their hot dry summer and their snow-covered winter. Sometimes they had rainy spells or storms; not this constant drizzle.

Kakashi turned away from the window to see Potter continuing to pace in front of the fireplace. He rolled his eyes; Potter had been doing that for almost two hours. He looked back down to the letter in his hands.

Gai wasn’t one for short replies; instead he enjoyed a lot of exclamation marks. He had also apparently decided that the way to not get any weirder was to run around Konoha on his hands a thousand times. At least it would keep him busy and out of the Hokage’s way, although Kakashi still had not figured out how Gai had arrived at this conclusion. Maybe he would enjoy hearing about the Fire Crabs; they were pretty close to the other jounin’s tortoise summons. He could send a sketch with it; he could find time to draw another one.

He shoved the letter in his pocket and hopped down from the window ledge, crossing the room to join the trio. He leaned on the back of the couch as Potter pulled at his hair.

“What am I even supposed to wear? What do I do? Do I have to bring anything?”

“No idea,” Weasley shrugged, eating some sort of sweets. “Where you guys going?”

“...I have to think of that?”

A heavy sigh came from Granger.

“Absolutely hopeless.”

She turned to look at Kakashi despairingly.

“Do you have Valentine’s Day where you’re from?”

He shook his head. Another event then; would this be like Christmas?

“So Valentine’s Day is for couples. Harry’s got a date with Cho Chang and he’s being absolutely hopeless about it.”

“ _Hermione!_ ”

“She’s right, mate,” Weasley nodded from his slouch. “It’s tomorrow and you don’t even know what shirt you’re wearing.”

“Like you’re any help.”

Kakashi looked between the three in exasperation.

“Dress in clean, smart clothes and ensure you make every effort to show them how much you care.” He pushed himself off the couch to stand straight. “Treat them like they are the most important person in the world and that every moment you spend with them is a blessing.”

At his words the trio fell into a stunned silence and Kakashi stared back, perplexed at their response. It was obvious, was it not? If anyone were to ask him about dating or couples, he would always use Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee as a template. Minato-sensei had adored Kushina-nee and that had been reflected in his actions. They had been so in love and their home had been filled with such joy and laughter. If Kakashi ever took up dating, he would want something like they had; something true and easy and warm.

He very carefully did not think of that same home now, empty and cold. Never again to be filled with Kushina-nee’s stories and Minato-sensei’s laughter. Their son would never experience that home for himself.

He was pulled out of his spiralling thoughts by Granger’s outburst.

“Have you ever been on a date?”

“No,” Kakashi replied. “I have seen others in successful relationships and those seem to be key contributors.”

He could have gone on dates when he was younger.

Rin had confessed to him and he knew that she had feelings for him long before that. He could have given her a chance but he didn’t. He just ignored her feelings until it was too late and she died by his hand. Now there was no way to know if it could have been something. Obito would not have made the same mistakes that he did; he had adored Rin, he would not have let her down like he always did.

He left as the trio’s debate sparked back up. Making his way to the bathroom, he thrust his hands beneath the taps and scrubbed at his hands until the skin turned raw, the red scarf around his neck slowly closing his throat shut.

* * *

The next morning, Granger and Weasley had left for their activities for the day and a well-dressed Potter dragged Kakashi to the side before they headed to Hogsmeade.

“I know you follow me everywhere but you _cannot_ follow me on this date.”

Multiple scenarios in which Potter could be attacked flashed through Kakashi’s mind; Hogsmeade was not secure and a Death Eater had already been engaged within the village limits.

“You would not be able to detect my presence.”

This appeared to only distress Potter further.

“I’ll _know_ you’re watching,” he protested. “Please, Kakashi, nothing is going to happen to me on one date. I’ve had many, many trips to Hogsmeade where nothing has happened.”

Kakashi levelled a stare at the younger boy for a long moment.

“I will not follow you on this date, Potter.”

Relief washed over his face.

“Thank you,” said Potter with a small grin. “Okay, thanks.”

“Why did you ask?” Kakashi asked out of curiosity.

From what he knew of Potter, he would have expected the student to come up with some sort of scheme or lie to evade him. It would not have worked but he usually would have at least tried.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to stop you any other way,” Potter admitted.

Kakashi nodded; six months in and the boy was finally learning. He watched Potter make his way to the entrance of the castle to meet Chang. Once the boy had moved out of hearing range, Kakashi summoned two of his dogs. Pakkun and Urushi appeared in a puff of smoke.

“ **What do you need, pup?** ” Pakkun greeted.

“ **Follow the Potter boy and ensure you are not seen. I will be in the village so if anything happens, Pakkun find me and Urushi, defend the boy until I get there.** ”

“ **Why are you not guarding the boy if you are already in the village?** ” Pakkun asked suspiciously.

His summons knew him well.

“ **Potter does not want me observing his date. I agreed not to follow him for the duration. Nothing was said about you.** ”

Urushi butted his head into Kakashi’s hand and he scratched behind his ears fondly. The dogs set off and Kakashi followed at a slower pace, confident in his summons’ abilities.

He pretty much had a couple of hours free now. He still wanted to be in the village just in case but otherwise he had nowhere to be. Maybe Neville would be up for showing him places he could find good books. He shoved his gloved hands into the front pouch of his grey hoodie as he walked along, taking in the quiet morning. There were no students around and he savoured the silence, for once occurring in the daylight.

He had almost reached the outer border of the village when the man appeared from the trees.

He wore the same black clock as Avery and Kakashi glared at the wand pointed at him. He was more wary of that thing after last time.

“This way.”

The man jabbed the wand towards the tree line and Kakashi walked slowly forward. It appeared they were being more cautious this time too.

As he neared the Death Eater, the man’s mouth twisted into a dark grin. Matted brown hair was tied back into a clump at his neck and his cobalt stare was burning; he scanned Kakashi hungrily and he could see the depths of the man’s appetite for violence in his eyes. This man wanted a fight.

“We just want to have a little chat on behalf of our Dark Lord. Forgive me if my manners are a bit lacking. Azkaban doesn’t really care about those sorts of things so I’m out of practice.”

He had said ‘we’. So there was more than one. Optimal scenario would be to take out this opponent and hunt down the others; tracking was one of his specialities. Dumbledore had banned him from killing them but superficial damage was allowed. Good thing he kept stasis scrolls on him for going to Hogsmeade after last time.

He kept walking until he was a couple of metres away from the man. The enemy raised the wand higher; he waved it in what Kakashi was sure he thought was a vaguely threatening manner.

“That’s close enough.”

Kakashi agreed.

He dashed forward, using his right hand to grab the wand. He did not have time to react before Kakashi grabbed his greasy hair with his other hand and slammed the man’s head down onto his raised knee. With a wet crunch, Kakashi felt the man’s nose give and his body weight slump to the ground. He pulled on the man’s hair to lift his head.

He was out cold; blood spread across his face and his nose a squashed, crooked mess. He let go and the man dropped to the ground with a heavy thump. He sealed the man’s wand into a separate storage scroll; he was a bit disappointed he could not destroy this one.

He crouched beside the unconscious man and pushed some chakra to his nose, trying to detect any trace of his partners. Amid the information that enlightened Kakashi to the man’s less than stellar hygienic routine, he could detect two other distinct scents from him. Committing them to memory, he brought out his first stasis scroll and sealed the man inside. Standing, he pushed more chakra to his nose and took a moment to inhale the morning air, the peace from before absent.

He darted into the tree line, pushing chakra into his legs as he took to the trees, jumping between the branches as he followed the scent to its source. Voices soon reached him as he softened his steps, coming to rest on a branch as he observed the pair arguing in the middle of the clearing.

“What the fuck is taking Mulciber so long? He better not have killed the kid.”

“I don’t even know why we have to waste time on this guy. He’s a foreign Muggle.” The man spat on the ground in disgust.

Kakashi could not tell if it was ‘foreign’ or ‘Muggle’ the man was more abhorred by.

“It is the wish of the Dark Lord,” the other snapped. “You’ve been rotting away in Azkaban for the past decade, Travers, so you may have forgotten, but we follow the Dark Lord and his commands. He has commanded that we get this boy, so. We. Get. This. Boy.”

“Go fuck yourself, Jugson.”

“The shit I put up with for the Dark Lord-”

“Shut up.”

“No, you shut-”

“Shut the fuck up, Jugson! There’s someone watching us.”

The pair fell still for a moment and Kakashi watched silently. How did he know? Usually none could detect him unless he wanted them to.

“How would you know?”

“I spend over fifteen years in Azkaban with Dementors. You learn to get vigilant about this shit if you don’t want to get your soul fucking ripped out.”

The man who had detected him pointed his wand towards Kakashi’s hiding spot and Kakashi jumped down, stepping into the clearing. Both wands were pointed towards him and he projected an air of surrender. They seemed more willing to talk than Avery; he might be able to turn them on each other and get more information if he played his cards right.

“Well, well, just the Muggle we were talking about,” Travers sneered. “Where’s Mulciber?”

“I do not know who that is,” Kakashi replied.

“Then how did you get here?” Jugson narrowed his eyes.

“I received an owl to meet someone here during the Hogsmeade weekend,” Kakashi lied easily. “They mentioned that they would have something for me.”

The Death Eaters exchanged a look as they swallowed his story.

“Where the fuck did Mulciber go then? And who the fuck sent the letter?” frowned Travers.

“I do not know about your comrade but the letter was signed by Malfoy,” Kakashi shrugged.

Potter had complained about Malfoy and his father enough that he was confident that the older man was a part of Voldemort’s cohort.

“Fucking Malfoy,” scoffed Jugson. “Does whatever he fucking wants. Fuck everyone else.”

Kakashi continued to slowly take steps towards the pair but stopped when Travers’ sharp, hateful gaze latched onto him, his wand raised.

“Our Dark Lord has seen fit to extend an offer to you,” he snarled. “The death of Albus Dumbledore and the deliverance of Harry Potter into our hands and in return, we will pay you double whatever these _pacifists_ are throwing at you.”

The venom he referred to ‘pacifists’ almost rivalled his apparent hatred of foreigners. Jugson took a step forward.

“Avery should have approached you about this before but he’s never been the most...reliable. We extend this as the first and only time that our Dark Lord will work with you.”

The implication that any rejection of the offer would result in their ‘Dark Lord’ working against him hung in the air.

“Why is the Dark Lord so interested in Potter?” Kakashi chose his words carefully. “Dumbledore’s death I understand, but Potter’s just a student.”

“None of your fucking business.”

“It is not our place to question our Lord,” Jugson agreed with his comrade.

Kakashi took a moment to read each of his opponent’s position before he gave his answer.

“I do not accept.”

Travers’ face immediately broke out into a delighted grin, a crazed gleam entering his eyes.

“ _Bombarda Maxima!_ ”

Kakashi ducked out of the way of the explosion and unleashed a wave of kunai at the pair. A loud ‘fuck’ reached him through the smoke left over from the spell.

“ _Confringo!_ ”

Kakashi dodged to the side once again as a spell exploded near him. He darted forward but was halted when the earth in front of him burst alight in pillar of flame to the echoes of ‘ _incendio_ ’.

“Now, now,” Travers cackled as Kakashi watched him shoot the fire from the end of his wand. “Let’s have a proper duel from a nice, long distance.”

Jugson next to him flicked his wand and Kakashi back-flipped out of the way as the earth where he had just stood was torn away. The wizards were weak at close-range but their jutsu was powerful when utilised in long-range combat. He flipped through hand seals.

“ _Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!_ ”

He toned down the chakra that the technique would normally use; he just needed enough to douse the flames and get close. The jet of water left his mouth and the flames soon vanished, leaving two wet and angry Death Eaters in its wake.

“You fucking bastard!”

“ _Flipendo!_ ”

Kakashi caught the edge of the spell and he was knocked off balance. Rolling forward, he could not dodge the next spell and he held in a groan as his left leg was torn open.

“ _Bombarda Maxima!_ ”

He dodged another explosion as he ran through any jutsu that would end this fight right now without killing them. Glancing at his soaking wet opponents, a grin broke through the pained grimace as he hit the churned earth to dodge another ‘ _bombarda_ ’. He sped through the seals and slammed his hands down on the earth.

“ _Raisō: Ikazuchi no Utage!_ ”

Arcs of lightning rose from the ground as they sped towards the enemy. Kakashi watched in satisfaction as they failed to stop the jutsu with their light shield; they dropped to the ground and Kakashi cancelled the jutsu.

He stood and limped over to them, making sure they were unconscious before he slumped to the ground next to them. He peered down at his leg; there was a long and deep cut on the top of his thigh but he had had deeper. He pulled bandages out of his pouch and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

These wizards were different than those he had worked with before. These two had known how to fight; even if Travers had been overly fond of that explosive jutsu. They were no shinobi but even just being grazed by their jutsu could do a lot of damage, especially since Kakashi had not figured out a way to shield against it yet. Magic and chakra were fundamentally different after all. He was a ‘Muggle’; he couldn’t do their spells just like they couldn’t do his jutsu.

He also had the limitation that he could not kill or permanently maim the Death Eaters; they had no such inhibitions with him. How simple this mission would have been if Dumbledore had simply ordered him to assassinate all Death Eaters. He could have been home months ago.

Sighing, he pulled out his scrolls. He leaned over and grabbed the wands out of their hands, wrinkling his nose at the smell of urine coming from the unconscious pair. He then stored the two Death Eaters away and hauled himself to his feet. Looking around at the trashed clearing he frowned. He kneeled and placed his hands on the ground.

“ _Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu_."

The scorched and torn earth smoothed over. It wasn’t quite the same as before but enough to cover up that a fight had occurred. Kakashi shoved all his scrolls into his pockets and limped towards Hogsmeade to pick up his charge, just as the rain began to fall.

There went his quiet morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique  
> Raisō: Ikazuchi no Utage – Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning  
> Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu – Earth Release: Earth Wave Technique


	24. Misinterpret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I know everyone has been looking forward to when the trio find out about Kakashi's past and I just have one question... did you really think Kakashi would ever tell them himself?
> 
> Also I have one thing to say to everyone that has been enjoying Kakashi opening up... I'm sorry.

Harry followed closely behind Kakashi as they made their way through the castle halls, sharing confused glances with Hermione every so often. They had just managed to wrap up the interview with Rita Skeeter when Kakashi had stormed into the Three Broomsticks, dripping onto the wooden floor. Even with three quarters of his face covered, Harry could tell that the shinobi was not happy. If the shinobi had burst in just an hour ago, it probably would have improved his date with Cho. Not much could have made it worse.

Kakashi had spoken very few words but his tone had Harry scrambling out of his chair; it felt like he was a first year getting busted by McGonagall all over again. Even Rita hadn’t escaped; she had started to ask questions but Kakashi had just looked at her and the journalist’s mouth had snapped shut. Harry wished he could do that. It would have solved so many of his problems last year.

Luna hadn’t picked up on any of this tension and had waved them off happily.

Hermione had decided to join him and Kakashi in going back to the castle, but Harry could tell she just wanted to know what had happened to make Kakashi act like this. They managed to borrow some umbrellas and trudged up to the castle through the hammering rain. They finally came to the statue outside of Dumbledore’s office and there was a puff of smoke. Another Kakashi appeared, but Harry couldn’t help but take a step back in shock at the state of the double.

The clone was soaked through and dripping onto the stone floor, just like the original. The rest of it was new. The left sleeve of his hoodie was shredded and the rest of the jumper was filthy with dirt and soot. His scarf had escaped damage but it was drenched and hanging haphazardly from his shoulders. It probably would have been worse but Harry suspected the rain washed most of the evidence away. A bandage was wrapped around the clone’s left leg and Harry gulped at the red that was seeping through; it looked like that was the only injury but who knew what was under his clothing. The memory of Kakashi’s bruised chest lurked at the back of Harry’s thoughts. He looked back at the perfectly clean if damp original and narrowed his eyes.

“Why is your clone like that?” Hermione spoke his thoughts aloud. “They’re usually an exact copy of you.”

Kakashi eyed them for a moment. He muttered something under his breath and the illusion faded; he now matched the clone.

“What happened to you?” Harry demanded.

“You need to go see Madame Pomfrey!” Hermione cried over him.

Kakashi ignored them both and said ‘Fizzing Whizzbee’, disappearing into the headmaster’s office. Harry scowled; he hated when Kakashi did that. He turned to glare at the clone which stared at the wall in response.

“Are we just supposed to wait out here until he’s done in there?” he asked the clone.

Kakashi’s double shrugged.

“Granger-san has no obligation to be here.”

“What happened in Hogsmeade?” Harry tried again. “Is it the same as last time? When you were hit with that curse?”

Not that anyone had bothered to tell Harry what had happened last time. Hermione moved to speak but was cut off by the grinding of the turning staircase. Harry looked up, expecting to see Kakashi coming back down, but instead saw a young brunette.

Her hair was twisted into a bun and her sharp brown eyes jumped between the three of them. She was dressed casually; a large green jumper, baggy jeans and oversized brown boots. They made her seem smaller than she was and she only reached Harry’s eyes. She also looked very familiar and it clicked as her gaze locked onto Kakashi, her features twisting with hatred.

“That’s her, isn’t it?”

Harry looked back at Hermione and nodded. It was the Slytherin girl from detention; the other shinobi in the castle. The other two exchanged words in their native tongue and Harry jumped as Kakashi’s double burst into smoke, leaving behind the girl. She turned to them and folded her arms.

“So while that bastard is busy, I’ve been ordered to keep an eye on you.”

“And who are you exactly?” Hermione narrowed her eyes.

“Rin Ishihara.” The girl rolled her eyes. “It’s only for a few hours so as long as you don’t go into the Gryffindor common room, do whatever you want.”

“Why?”

Ishihara shot Harry the stink-eye.

“I’m a Slytherin. I can’t exactly follow you without blowing my cover, and I’m not doing that for that scum’s mission.”

“What’s your mission?” Hermione shot out.

“None of your business.”

Harry shared a look with Hermione. This girl was nothing like Kakashi. Harry had thought that shinobi were supposed to be like Kakashi; unemotional, clinical and aloof. This girl was none of these things. Was it just Kakashi who was like that? Were shinobi not like that in general?

“Let’s go,” Ishihara began to walk off, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Standing around here is going to look suspicious.”

Harry and Hermione trailed after her.

“Do you know what happened to Kakashi?” Harry chanced.

“Some Death Eaters took a shot at killing him off. Unfortunately, they failed.” Ishihara looked genuinely disappointed at the thought.

Alarm bells rang in Harry’s head. Death Eaters in Hogsmeade? Is this what happened last time? Why did no one tell him? Had they not thought it was relevant to maybe give him a head’s up that freaking _Death Eaters_ were lurking about?

“Wait, why? Were they after Harry?” Hermione shot out, sounding just as panicked as Harry felt.

Ishihara stopped and looked back at them.

“Has Hatake not told you anything?”

Harry shook his head.

“He never tells me anything. Says that I don’t need to know, or just ignores me, or that I’m not the client.”

A considering look passed over Ishihara’s face and Harry wouldn’t have believed this girl was a shinobi like Kakashi if he hadn’t seen them clash at the beginning of the year. She was so expressive; so unlike Kakashi. A part of him couldn’t help but wonder how things might be different if Kakashi was more like her. She seemed to settle on something and she grinned widely.

“Ask me anything you want. Anything that Hatake didn’t want to tell you, if I can answer, I will.”

“Wait, why?” Hermione asked suspiciously. “If you’re a shinobi like him, shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be concerned with information security or whatever reasons he had for not telling us?”

Harry just barely stopped himself from saying out loud that Kakashi’s reasons were ‘he’s a dick’.

“Okay, first of all, a female shinobi is a kunoichi,” Ishihara held up a finger, before holding up another. “Second, don’t you have a right to know? I mean, he’s guarding _you_. This is all about _you_. It isn’t fair that Hatake isn’t telling you things that directly affect you. Plus, don’t you have a right to know who is guarding you? I mean, he’s hanging around you every day and night; I would want to know what kind of person he is.”

Harry nodded absentmindedly as he processed her words. This is what he had been saying all along but no one else would listen to him. He _should_ know these things.

He missed the cruel smirk that twitched at the corner of Ishihara’s lips.

“You’re right,” Harry turned to Hermione. “We haven’t been able to find out much on our own.”

Hermione looked uncomfortable but Harry knew that look in her eyes. She wanted answers just as much as he did. They turned to the kunoichi.

“What happened in Hogsmeade?”

Ishihara looked up the hallway before beckoning them further up the corridor. They came to an empty room and she ushered them in. She hopped onto a table and swung her legs, waving at them to find a seat. Harry took a seat across from her, Hermione sitting hesitantly next to him. Ishihara clapped her hands, smiling brightly at them.

“I don’t have all the details since they shoved me out the door to watch you guys but apparently Hatake was ambushed outside your village by three combatants.” She shrugged. “Hatake said they wanted the same as last time, but since I don’t know about before, I can’t tell you what that is.”

“It’s probably about you, Harry,” Hermione frowned in thought. “They must know Kakashi is your guard; they might have tried to go for you through him.”

“Either way, Hatake caught them and brought them in for interrogation.”

“Interrogation?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah,” Ishihara rolled her head to look at him. “Standard procedure when you capture the enemy. Get as much intelligence from them as you can; that’s probably where Hatake is now. He’s probably good at that kind of stuff.”

“By ‘that kind of stuff’, you mean torture, right?” Hermione asked hesitantly, her face pale.

“Torture?” Harry couldn’t wrap his head around that one. Dumbledore wouldn’t allow that; they were the good guys. They didn’t do that kind of thing; that was Voldemort. The Order wouldn’t do that, not even to Death Eaters. “Dumbledore wouldn’t....”

His mind couldn’t help but flash back to Sirius’ words.

_It’s being handled._

Is that what Sirius had meant? Did Sirius know? Did...did Sirius help? The bile began to rise in Harry’s throat but he swallowed it back down. Is that really where Kakashi was now? Torturing some Slytherin kid’s parents for information for the Order? Did he kill them when he was done?

“Why are you guys so surprised?” Harry’s head snapped up to stare at Ishihara, who looked genuinely confused. “What did you expect to happen in war?”

Harry wasn’t so sure anymore that he had an answer to that question. Ishihara continued.

“What, you think they hired _Sharingan no Kakashi_ as your bodyguard just to guard you? He was made in war; it’s where he belongs.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ishihara sighed at Hermione’s question.

“Okay, time for a short history lesson. Back home, we had our own war that ended about three years ago. It lasted about four years and Hatake fought the entire time; he built up quite the reputation.”

Harry absorbed the information. Kakashi had his own war only three years ago? Three years ago, Harry was worrying about the Basilisk and answering Lockhart’s fan mail. Seven years ago, he didn’t even know this world existed.

“You also have to realise, our war is not like your war,” Ishihara continued. “Your war is quiet, fought among small groups, and is relatively clean in death. It’s also all long-range and mostly political. The last battle in our war resulted in the death of over a thousand of our shinobi at the hands of one man; the blood still soaks the field to this day.”

Harry shared a horrified glance with Hermione.

“Kakashi?”

“Close,” Ishihara gripped the table, her knuckles turning white. “His teacher, also known as the greatest war criminal in the Elemental Nations. Kakashi follows in his footsteps.”

“So this war was between your people and Kakashi’s?” Hermione clarified.

“Konoha accused us of invading another country, but we didn’t. Things had been tense for a while so that just tipped things over. It was fought between almost all countries in the Elemental Nations but Konoha did the most damage.”

“So you consider Kakashi a war criminal?” Harry asked. “Wasn’t he just fighting like you?”

This was a lot of information. He could never have imagined that Kakashi had been hiding this much in his past. Some of the comments he’d made were starting to make sense though. Ishihara let go of the desk, throwing a feral grin at them.

“I don’t have to consider anything. He is and it’s recorded in the Bingo book.”

“Bingo book?”

“List of criminals and their bounties,” Ishihara answered Hermione. “His is very high for his age but it’s reflective of his crimes.”

“His age?”

“He hasn’t even told you how old he is?” Ishihara shook her head. “It must be hard dealing with someone who so blatantly distrusts you; especially now you know the kinds of things he’s been hiding from you.”

Harry nodded although he didn’t really listen to her words. He was still trying to process the war bit.

“He’s sixteen,” Ishihara shrugged. “Young for the Bingo books but he hasn’t got long to reach his peak anyway.”

That caught Harry’s attention.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?”

Ishihara began to swing her legs again.

“In wartime, shinobi only live to an average of mid-thirties. It’s a bit better in peacetime, as the average goes up into the forties. The peak for a shinobi is usually considered to be in their twenties but most prodigies like Kakashi don’t tend to make it out of their twenties. They always either die young or become the leaders of our villages. No way is he the second one.”

She said it so matter-of-fact, like she was reading it out of a textbook; like it was just an accepted part of life that she herself wouldn’t make it to fifty. If the oldest people Kakashi knew were only averaging forty, then of course sixteen wouldn’t seem young. Not like here, where they had wizards living well into triple digits.

“Why...why did you call him _Sharingan_?” Harry looked at Hermione, whose face had set in determination.

Ishihara hopped off the desk and pointed at her left eye.

“That eye-patch he wears? He has an eye under there but it’s not his.”

She began to walk out of the room and Harry scrambled to follow her, his limbs like lead.

“During the war, he had a teammate with special eyes called the _Sharingan_. They could copy any spell they saw flawlessly and they were widely considered a valuable weapon. Story is that the teammate got injured on a mission and instead of helping him Hatake ripped out that eye and stole it for himself. He then went on to use it to murder many, many people later in the war.”

Harry had a hard time imagining Kakashi doing that but if there was anything he had learned in the past hour it was that he didn’t know Kakashi at all. Silence fell on the trio and they reached the Great Hall without Harry noticing. Ishihara waved to them both and headed over to the Slytherin table.

Harry followed Hermione over to the Gryffindor table and sat heavily, staring at his empty plate. He wouldn’t be eating today; his stomach was still roiling and churning from what they had found out. He looked up as Ron sat across from him; they had a lot to fill him in on later.

* * *

A day after the mess with the Death Eaters, Kakashi followed Potter into the Great Hall for breakfast. They had stood firm, much like Avery, and Kakashi had to acknowledge that wizards were indeed made of stern stuff. Physical pain did not have much influence over them, which had resulted in the clear, scentless truth concoction being utilised once more. The men had not been very useful but at least they had some ideas about Voldemort’s resources and manpower.

He had been uncomfortable leaving Potter with Ishida though. When Dumbledore had suggested it, he had tried to argue against it but apparently they were supposed to be working together now. His mission was her mission. He knew she would not kill Potter but who knew what else she would do; Ishida would do anything to make him miserable.

It did not help that she kept sending him smug smirks at every opportunity since then; it was infuriating. He knew she did something, but he had not yet figured out what.

The trio had been quieter than usual since then, but they could just be in a huff that Kakashi wouldn’t tell them what had taken place in Hogsmeade. It had happened before. When Kakashi had tried to engage with them, Potter especially had hyper-focused on the Quidditch game on Sunday, which again was not unusual. Ishida might have said something to them but she did not have any information about the incidents with the Death Eaters to share.

They sat the Gryffindor table and Kakashi noted that the trio once again avoided sitting near him. Neville quickly filled the space so Kakashi let it go. Before they could speak, the owls arrived with the post and Kakashi stared as six owls landed in front of Potter.

“Harry! I think I know what this means! Open this one first!”

Potter tore open the brown packaging and opened the newspaper that fell out. Kakashi could just barely see the title from his spot.

_HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:_

_THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO SHOULD NOT BE NAMED_

_AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN_

Pakkun had told him about the meeting between Granger, Potter and that woman after Potter’s disastrous date with Chang. He did not have the necklace so he was not able to pick up on the words spoken, but Kakashi had not been mentioned at least. This appeared to be the result of that meeting.

The trio began to tear open the other envelopes and Kakashi held himself back from ripping them out of Potter’s hands. Who knew who the senders were or if they had included something harmful in there? He could not smell anything off with them nor see anything that could pose a risk, and as the teens opened the last with no incident, Kakashi dared relaxed.

“What’s going on here?”

Umbridge stood behind them. Potter glanced down at the letters in his hands. He let some of them drop before handing over a copy of the newspaper to Umbridge.

“People wrote to because of an interview I gave about what happened to me last June.”

Kakashi watched as Umbridge’s face went from pale to violet in under a minute.

“When was this?”

“Saturday; Hogsmeade weekend.”

“Well, Mr. Potter, no more Hogsmeade weekends for you,” Umbridge hissed. “How dare...how could you...after all I did trying to teach you not to tell lies. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week’s detention; let’s try and get that lesson to stick, shall we?”

Kakashi internally sighed. Now he was going to have to waste a week in detention. The morning continued and by the afternoon, almost the entire student populace had read the Quibbler.

At lunch though, Kakashi finally decided to test his theory. He had put up with this yesterday because it had not interfered with his duties and they were distracted by Quidditch. Not today though. He deliberately sat next to Potter and he frowned as the boy jumped and stared at him with wide eyes. He did a poor job of covering his reaction up and Kakashi sent a glare over to the Slytherin table. Ishida had definitely done something.

Potter stuffed the rest of his lunch into his mouth and shot out of his seat, Granger and Weasley quickly following. Kakashi nodded to Neville and rose from the bench, following them out. There was still half an hour left of lunch and he would use all of it to get to the bottom of this. He caught up and barked out ‘common room’. The three exchanged a look and Kakashi rolled his eyes, following them to Gryffindor Tower. They entered the portrait and the room was thankfully empty; Kakashi couldn’t hear anyone up the stairs either. He folded his arms and levelled a stare at the three students.

“What nonsense did Ishihara say to you on Saturday?”

“What makes you think she said anything to us?” Potter snapped back defensively, giving himself away.

Kakashi turned to look at Granger and she averted her eyes guiltily.

“You have been skittish since she was assigned to guard you. Obviously she has said something to you to cause you to be wary. What was it?”

“We just asked her some questions,” Granger blurted out, drawing glares from the two boys. “Stuff we couldn’t find out ourselves.”

Kakashi sighed.

“You can’t believe anything Ishihara says.”

“So you didn’t fight in a war then? Or have a bounty over your head? Or kill so many people that they labelled you a criminal?” Weasley demanded.

Kakashi stared at the redhead. They had asked Ishihara about him? Not about the incident in Hogsmeade?

“Did your teacher really kill a thousand people?”

Anger surged through Kakashi as he snapped his head to glare at Granger.

“You had no right to ask Ishihara about my past.”

“You’re not denying any of it though.” Weasley pointed a finger in accusation. “So it’s true.”

“Ishihara from Iwa; she is the enemy. Any action I took during the war would be seen as a crime by her because she was on the other side of them. My sensei ended the war and saved thousands more lives; it was a great victory. He was a hero.”

Disgust twisted Weasley’s face at his words.

“Nobody who kills a thousand people is anyone’s hero.”

Kakashi just barely held himself back from punching the boy. He did not know the full story; he only knew Iwa’s.

Weasley did not know what war did to a village: he had not seen his friends being torn limb from limb; the orphans starving on the streets; the widows withering away on their partner’s graves; the blood-soaked earth after an ambush; a comrade hanging from a rope when they saw no end to the slaughter; his best friend crushed under a rock, struggling to breathe. He did not know of the days when it was like the blood would never wash out of his uniform, the smell of death sticking to every surface, the empty void in his gut where his stomach should be.

Minato-sensei had ended the war at a great price; Kakashi knew he had carried it with him long after the deed had been done. At the end of the day, it was either a thousand Iwa-nins or a thousand Konoha-nins. Kakashi knew which one he would pick any day.

“You know nothing of the war,” he hissed, struggling to keep his expression blank at the insult to his sensei. “You got second-hand information from someone who barely fought in it. Not only that, but she was both an enemy and the losing side. Anything she said would be influenced by that perspective.”

“What about your _Sharingan_?” Potter finally spoke up.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy.

“It was your teammate’s, right?” he continued. “You have an eye under your eye-patch. You took it from your teammate when he was injured in the war. Was that a lie?”

Kakashi took a deep breath to try to calm himself. What did he expect from these people? They had done nothing but try to pry answers from him since he got here. He had gotten too comfortable here; telling them about the Rinne Festival and the other stuff may have been safe topics but he regretted telling them now.

They felt they were _entitled_ to his life story and because he had not given it to them, they had gone to someone who would. He tried to bury the stings of betrayal that welled up within him; it seemed that after six months he had come to expect more from them. That was his fault. He just thought that they respected him enough to get answers from him directly; turns out they were just biding their time until an easier route came along.

“That is none of your business.”

“I deserve to know who’s guarding me!” Potter exploded. “You’re hovering over my every move for a whole year and yet I don’t get to know anything about you! All I’m told is that you murder people ‘but don’t worry Harry, he won’t kill you’! You don’t tell me anything, even when they directly involve me! Like the Death Eaters that were after me in Hogsmeade!”

“They were not after you!” Kakashi snapped back. “They were after me!”

He cursed at his outburst.

He was getting too worked up. The minute they involved Minato-sensei and Obito all his composure left him. He just could not let people talk about them like that. His eyes darted to the clock and he turned around, striding towards the painting.

“Wait, where are you going?” Granger called after him.

“We have class.”

Kakashi listened as the pairs of feet scrambled after him. He wrestled the roiling emotions inside of him, the taste of betrayal and disappointment still fresh on his tongue.

* * *

Neville looked over at his friend as they jogged around the castle. Something had happened at lunch. Kakashi and the others had left the table at lunch in a hurry and hadn’t reappeared until just before the start of Divination. Kakashi wasn’t usually one to let anyone know how he was feeling but everyone in the classroom could tell that something had upset him.

Neville was willing to bet his plant collection that Harry, Ron and Hermione were responsible if the looks they were throwing the exchange student all lesson were any indication. Harry looked confused, Ron angry and Hermione guilty; Kakashi didn’t look up the entire class.

This tension had continued all day so Neville had invited the other boy for a jog around the castle after dinner. The DA members still went every Saturday morning but Neville had taken to going up to three times a week. At first it had been tough; his lungs and legs burned, he was dizzy and he had been sick almost every time. The more he ran though the easier it got and he gradually found that he actually enjoyed the peace and quiet. There was also a sense of achievement after every run that was different than when he got good grades or got a spell right. His clothes were looser on him too; he had never felt so good about his body before.

Kakashi had just nodded and followed him out of the common room. Neville was happy to keep the silence; he had just thought his friend could use a break.

They finished their third and final lap and Neville wheezed as they came to a stop next to the castle entrance. If someone had told Neville back in October that he would be able to run almost seven kilometres without stopping or being sick, he would never have believed them; and it was all thanks to the boy standing next to him.

Kakashi had been the breath of fresh air that Neville hadn’t even known he needed. The other boy was private and awkward, but took the time to teach Neville how to use chopsticks and how to dodge and to comfort him after the Azkaban breakout. There was a kindness and a patience hidden beneath the tough exterior that Neville was privileged enough to be allowed to see.

Kakashi also never looked down on him. He never doubts him or seems annoyed by him; Kakashi just takes him as he is. Neville loved his friends in Gryffindor but he knew how people saw him; weak and a bit useless. Neville Longbottom, who could never get anything right or who always messed things up. Even Harry and Ron had said these things about him in the past. Kakashi had not once this entire year even hinted at thinking like that. It was nice.

He had seen Kakashi opening up to the others but it appears it might have backfired.

Neville sat down heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He might have come a long way but he had a lot further to go. In comparison, Kakashi’s breathing hadn’t changed the entire run; he sat gracefully beside Neville in one fluid motion. The evening air was filled only with Neville harsh panting for several minutes.

“Why do you never push for information on my past?”

Neville whirled around to stare at his friend who was now frowning at the ground.

“I mean, you don’t seem like you want to talk about it,” Neville answered honestly. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Kakashi looked up at him so Neville continued.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing about your life and stuff, but I also just like hanging out with you as you are. I don’t really need to know about your history to be your friend. It’s nice when you feel like you can tell me stuff, but I would never want you to feel like you have to.”

“Oh.”

Kakashi’s face was mostly covered so Neville couldn’t see most of the emotions that crossed his face, but he felt confident enough to ask.

“Did Harry do something?”

Neville could almost feel the wall slam back up and he quickly threw up his hands.

“You don’t have to tell me! I just thought it might help to talk about it...is all...”

Neville thought about it. Kakashi usually opened up when Neville shared something first; it was give and take.

“In first year, Hermione used Petrificus Totalus on me. I tried to stop them from leaving the Common Room; we had lost so many house points that year that I really didn’t want to lose anymore. The older years really didn’t like it when we lost points,” Neville said, gazing up at the cloudy sky. “I lay there for what felt like hours. I couldn’t move but all my senses were still intact; it was like I was trapped in my body. It was cold and dark and I just had to lie there, staring at the ceiling.”

Neville thought back to that night, almost five years ago. He had never told anyone but that night had been one of the worst of his entire life. He used to wake up in the middle of the summer, panicking, thinking he couldn’t move his limbs; that he was trapped in his body all over again.

“No one cared. Dumbledore gave me five points but everyone was so busy praising Harry, Ron and Hermione that no one thought to care that I was attacked by someone that was supposed to be my friend. I was just supposed to accept it because she did it for the _greater good_.”

That night had hurt him; he had gotten past it though. All on his own, but he could say now that the bushy-haired girl was a good friend of his along with the other two boys. They were all in this fight together. He looked over to smile at Kakashi.

“They’re not bad people. They just get swept up in things and don’t think about the consequences for other people. Harry, especially, is so busy trying to fight Voldemort that he thinks he has to fight everyone else too.”

Kakashi appeared to think this over.

“They found out some things about me,” he started slowly. “But they found out from someone else who twisted the facts, so they have the wrong idea.”

“But that’s not what bothers you?”

Kakashi shot him a look of surprise.

“No,” he admitted. “I believed that after our time together they had learned respect for my silence on the matter. Turns out not only was I wrong, but they are more inclined to trust a stranger than me.”

Neville instinctively moved to say that wasn’t true but he stopped himself. Kakashi would know better than him. If he said it, then it must be true.

“And...”

It was Neville’s turn to be surprised as Kakashi continued.

“They spoke ill of people who are important to me. People who don’t deserve to be thought of like that.”

This obviously meant a lot to Kakashi. More than he would ever let on to anyone else. Despite the solemn topic, Neville couldn’t help but feel a glow of warmth in his stomach that Kakashi trusted him enough to show him how he really felt.

“I’m sorry, Kakashi.”

The other boy nodded and hauled himself to his feet. He held out a hand and Neville took it, pushing himself to his feet.

“I have learned my lesson. It is getting cold; we should go inside.”

Neville followed him into the warmth of the castle, a bad feeling creeping in at Kakashi’s words. The other boy turned to him as they passed through the doorway.

“Thank you, Neville.”

Neville smiled at his friend. Kakashi had helped him in so many ways since they had met, he was just happy that he could help the other boy, even just a little bit.

* * *

Harry was standing in a dark, curtained room lit by a meagre row of candles. In front of him knelt a man in black robes, his head bowed.

“I do not blame you, Rookwood,” Harry drawled, his voice cold and cruel. “Are you sure of your facts?”

“Yes, my Lord,” the man stammered. “I used to work in the Ministry after all.”

“Avery told me before he disappeared that Bode would be able to take it.”

“Bode never would have been able to, Master,” Rookwood shook his head frantically. “Never, Master.”

Harry held out a pale, bony hand.

“Rise, Rookwood.”

The man rose slowly, although he remained hunched over and threw terrified looks over to Harry.

“You have done well,” said Harry. “You have Lord Voldemort’s gratitude, Rookwood.”

“My Lord, yes, thank you, my Lord.”

“Now what have you discovered about out missing members?”

Rookwood tensed up.

“Well, my L-Lord, they went to Hogsmeade to contact the shinobi as you ordered but there has been no word of them since. We have reason to believe that Kakashi Hatake has captured them under Dumbledore’s orders.”

Harry hissed in displeasure.

“So he has foolishly decided not to take my generous offer?” Harry mused to himself. “How unexpected. The last shinobi we dealt with went with the highest bidder. So who have we lost?”

“Avery, Jugson, Mulciber and Travers, my Lord.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and Rookwood squeaked, jumping back.

“Find where they are being kept,” he ordered. “The old fool won’t have killed them and we will need their numbers in the coming months. Now find Dolohov and send him to me.”

Rookwood scurried out of the room and Harry turned to see a mirror. He moved towards it and his reflection grew cleared through the darkness. A face as white as bone...red eyes with slits for pupils...

“NOOOOOO!”

Harry shot up and became entangled in the bed sheets. He couldn’t catch his breath as the image of that pale face stuck in his mind. He was suddenly freed and the moonlight shone down, highlighting Kakashi above him. The shinobi grabbed his face and Harry winced, his scar screaming with pain. Kakashi seemed to come to a conclusion as he let go and stepped back, Ron taking his place.

“What happened? Has someone been attacked?” Ron demanded.

“No, it’s just...just Voldemort’s really angry. Someone named Avery gave him wrong information.” Harry answered shakily, peering around his friend to stare at Kakashi. “He’s also mad about you.”

Kakashi shrugged and turned around without a word, going back to his bed. Harry watched him go with a frown. The shinobi had been giving them the cold shoulder since the blow-up yesterday.

“Harry, what did you see?”

Harry shoved thoughts on Kakashi away for the moment and described what he saw to Ron. The information on Bode might finally point them towards the weapon Voldemort had been looking for.


	25. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lovely commenter, Trife, raised a great point that I want to expand on a bit more. It's about the changes that both Dumbledore and Edward Stonewall have added to Kakashi's and Rinri's missions. I tried to get it across subtly but it appears it might have been too subtle! So basically to make changes to a mission, the client does need to inform the Hokage/Tsuchikage but Dumbledore is taking advantage of the situation. Kakashi currently cannot contact the Hokage properly due to the Ministry policing of the mail in and out of Hogwarts, so he cannot tell the Hokage himself otherwise he might blow his cover. So it's all on Dumbledore to arrange this. Dumbledore also knows how much Konoha needs this money and Iwa is in the same position; Iwa is recovering from the war and Konoha from the Kyuubi. Rinri and Kakashi are under a lot of pressure to make sure they succeed in this mission and get the money for their respective villages, so they can be forced into positions that in regular missions they might be able to refuse. It's almost like they can't say no; like Kakashi's mask and working together. It's why Kakashi feels that resentment building and that noose tightening; he knows that Dumbledore is taking advantage of him and hasn't actually contacted the Hokage yet, but he also knows there's nothing he can do without jeopardizing the mission.
> 
> (Have no fear, Kakashi will not take this lying down forever)
> 
> As far as committing treason, legally it's not technically treason for Kakashi and Rinri to help each other out on their missions as long as they do not share village secrets or any important information of any kind. They just feel like it's treason, especially since they fought in the war. During the war, it would have been treason to work with each other since they were enemies at the time but since now they are technically at peace, that no longer applies.
> 
> I hope the above has explained the whole mission situation a bit more!
> 
> I also wanted to thank everyone for their overwhelming support for this story! I honestly didn't expect this much love and appreciation and I'm so grateful, I really am. I know that I'm not the fastest at updating; just know that I'm trying to make these chapters the best I possibly can. I want to repay every single message and moment of support as much as I can, the only way I know how.
> 
> Bold = Japanese

Kakashi followed Potter to the new Divination classroom on the ground floor, keeping an appropriate distance as he weaved through the crowded hallways. The academy had been in a stir about the replacement sensei Dumbledore had presented since Trelawney had been fired two days ago. He had missed the event due to being stuck outside Snape’s door for Potter’s Occlumency lessons and from the sounds he had picked up through the door, it was not going well. However, he was not about to ask the boy.

He had avoided all but the most basic communication required for the completion of his mission with the trio since that day; it had worked well enough in September, it would work now. Anything else was just unnecessary. He only had three months until he could go home anyway.

Potter and Weasley stopped abruptly at the entrance to the classroom and Kakashi slipped past them, finding the spot with the best vantage point of the room. He strode over, placing his back against the wall and sunk down, barely glancing at the canopy around him. Potter took a moment to speak to the centaur and Kakashi palmed a kunai, only letting go when Potter moved away to sit on a tree stump.

“Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this room to imitate my natural habitat,” Firenze began. “I would have preferred the Forbidden Forest ... but it is not possible.”

“Why, sir?” a female Gryffindor shot her hand up. “We’re not scared of the Forest!”

“It is not a matter of your bravery. I have been... banished from my herd and cannot return.”

“Herd?” Kakashi overheard Brown mutter.

“Did Hagrid breed you, like the Thestrals?” Thomas shouted out, and Kakashi winced on Firenze’s behalf.

From Kakashi’s understanding of the centaurs, they had their own culture and traditions just as rich and complex as the wizards. He could say the same with other creatures affiliated with the wizards’ culture; goblins, merpeople, giants, dwarfs. Kakashi knew he would never be able to get the real story from books in a _wizards’_ library, but he could not help but notice that wizards had a tendency to look down on other species. It was a common pattern he had found in their history.

The wizards could learn and evolve so much if they would only reach out and treat their fellow beings as equals.

He could not help but think of the relationship that shinobi had with the animals of the summoning realm. Kakashi’s own contract with his dogs was invaluable; he could not count the number of times they had saved his life. It would not work if Kakashi did not respect them as the talented and skilled nin they were. He also had to take care of them as much as they took care of him. This equivalent relationship was important in every summoning contract and the significance of this respect was taught to every shinobi child.

The wizards could use the same lesson. It was almost painful to listen to the centaur being treated as if he were a common animal rather than a creature with intelligence and culture greater than most wizards. Unlike Umbridge though, it seemed like the issue with the children stemmed from ignorance.

“Let us begin,” Firenze drew the room’s attention back to him and the lesson began.

It was unlike any lesson with Trelawney. Kakashi did not believe in any of the tea leaves or dream reading that the woman peddled during her lessons, even with that odd comment at the beginning of the year. He knew better than to dismiss any notion of prophecy foretelling however; Minato-sensei’s summons, the toads, had a reputation for that sort of thing. Firenze’s main point for the lesson was that nothing was certain nor foolproof; it was Kakashi’s favourite Divination lesson so far.

The bell rang and while the dazed students funnelled out of the room, Firenze called out to Potter. Kakashi stopped in his tracks and turned, joining the pair in the clearing.

“...his attempt is not working. He would do better to abandon it.” Firenze was saying to Potter.

“Wait, Hagrid should abandon his attempt?” Potter replied, confused.

“Indeed, Harry Potter,” the centaur nodded. “I would warn him myself, but I am unwelcome in the Forest. He has earned my respect with his care for all living creatures so I say this for his own good.”

Firenze looked up at Kakashi.

“There has been one of your kind in the Forest these past months. The herd is agitated; the next time she comes to the Forest may be her last.”

“I am not affiliated with this intruder, Firenze-san,” Kakashi dipped his head slightly in respect. “She is here on her own mission and her agenda is her own. I am here to guard Potter and the castle. The herd should take whatever actions they deem necessary to protect their home.”

Hopefully the centaurs would kill Ishida off; that would be one of his headaches dealt with. Firenze stared at him for a long moment.

“You are different.” The centaur swished his tail. “Not just your energy, which is more grounded in nature than the wizards, but your demeanour. No one with two legs has ever bowed their head to me.”

“I give respect to those I believe are due,” Kakashi simply replied.

“I see,” Firenze said. “Pass my message to Hagrid, Harry Potter. Good day to you both.”

Kakashi nodded to the centaur and turned, heading to the door with Potter in tow. He ignored Potter’s attempts to talk.

* * *

Harry slumped onto the couch, the fire burning weakly in front of him. He had finally managed to pass Firenze’s message onto Hagrid but the groundskeeper hadn’t told him anything about what he was up to.

Hermione dumped a bunch of books onto the table in front of him and joined him on the couch as Ron fell onto the armchair nearby. Kakashi was in the back corner of the common room, buried in books of his own.

Kakashi had barely spoken a word to them since February. It was like the living stone from the beginning of the year was back; he only spoke to them enough to keep up his cover. Harry couldn’t help but notice that he still spoke to Neville all the time and studied with Dean and Seamus regularly. It was just them he was avoiding.

It’s not like Harry did anything wrong. He deserved to know exactly who was hovering over his shoulder and he had tried to ask Kakashi; he wasn’t his fault that Kakashi wouldn’t tell him anything. Of course they had to go looking elsewhere; how else were they supposed to find out? It’s not like Kakashi deserved to be mad. He had known since the summer that the shinobi was a murderer but he fought in a war? Had a bounty over his head? And he didn’t think that was relevant information?

He had _defended_ someone who had killed a thousand people. According to Hermione, that was about the student population of Hogwarts. Harry couldn’t even imagine the population of Hogwarts dead, never mind one person killing them all. It was just too much to comprehend. He just couldn’t imagine it but it had actually happened; Kakashi himself had admitted it.

Then there was the whole thing with the eye. He had lied to them all about how he didn’t have one but he actually did? But it wasn’t his? It was his friend’s that Kakashi had stolen? Harry glanced at Ron and felt his stomach churn at the thought of doing something like that to his friend.

It was a lot of information to process and a big mess that neither party appeared willing to deal with.

“He’s still avoiding us.”

Harry looked over to Hermione as she stared over to the shinobi.

“Good,” Ron huffed as he dragged himself to sit up straight. “We don’t need a guy like that hanging around more than absolutely necessary.”

“Come on, Ron.” Hermione was still staring. “I know what we found out was a bit shocking but it doesn’t erase the good moments we’ve had with him this year.”

“Which moments?” Ron sneered. “The ones where he’s avoided us, ignored us or the one where he stole Harry’s cloak?”

“He’s sixteen,” Hermione finally turned around. “He’s only a year older than us; younger than the twins! Yes, he had done some awful things but did he really have a choice?”

“You always have a choice,” Harry cut in, frowning.

“He was thrust into that war when he was nine, Harry! Nine!”

Harry shut his mouth at that statement.

“Excuse me for taking a moment to put things into perspective but I don’t think we should condemn him for things he may have been forced into when he was younger than us! Remember when I asked him about sports and he said it was for civilians? Who knows if he’s ever had a chance to live a normal life? No nine years old can make major life decisions, Harry!”

Hermione’s voice had risen throughout her speech and Harry quickly looked around. He exhaled heavily in relief as it appeared no one else had overheard with the anxiety over the upcoming exams. His gaze was drawn to the corner and his eyes met Kakashi’s; his grey eye was dark and unreadable but Harry couldn’t help but feel he was angry.

Kakashi looked back down and Harry turned to his friends.

“What do you expect us to do, Hermione?” he hissed. “He’s not speaking to us now anyway. Maybe it’s for the best; Voldemort has way too much interest in him.”

“There’s more to this than what that girl told us,” Hermione glared back. “Kakashi had a point; if they were enemies in the war, there might be some misinformation here. I just think he’s earned the benefit of the doubt. He was just starting to let his guard down.”

“Whatever, ‘Mione,” Ron scoffed, folding his arms.

Although his best friend was scowling, Harry could tell what Hermione had said was getting to him.

“We shouldn’t just write him off is all I’m saying,” Hermione finished, leaning back into the couch.

Maybe she had a point. Harry thought back to the quiet moments when it was just him and Kakashi; there was something there, something that wasn’t just the mission or his duty. The shinobi wouldn’t have told him about his father giving him the mask or the Rinne Festival otherwise. These glimpses behind the stony exterior didn’t fit with the facts Ishihara gave to them; but Kakashi didn’t deny any of those facts either.

Harry groaned loudly, dropping his head into his hands. His head hurt thinking about this. He didn’t know if Kakashi was a good guy or a bad guy. He was on their side right now but that could just be because of his mission.

The answers they’d finally managed to get had only managed to create more questions.

* * *

April came and classes continued to pile on the work, with homework and studying taking up more time than Kakashi preferred. The grades and results would mean nothing once the year ended since he was not actually a wizard, but he could not bring himself to let his standard fall. He could not afford those like Umbridge looking at him too closely so he had to make sure to keep up with those who had been learning this content from the beginning.

He still had to make time during the nights to patrol and check on the seals and during the day, he was required to follow Potter around. The period of time in the early morning was not enough to get all the work done like it had been earlier in the year, so he had resorted to completing the rest of it before his patrols. The intelligence gathering for Konoha could be finished during the day when the other students completed their homework, but he could not afford to be distracted by pointless homework exercises when he needed to be completing mission objectives. It had been eight months with no incidents involving the boy directly but he was not taking any chances.

He surpassed a yawn as he leaned against the wall, the DA around him practicing something called a ‘Patronus’. They had been overly excited about this lesson but as Kakashi watched the light show around him, he could not see the appeal.

“Producing a Patronus under threat is very different than doing it in a safe environment like this.”

“Don’t be such a killjoy,” Chang chuckled, gazing in delight as a silver swan formed of light flew around the room. “They’re so pretty!”

“They’re supposed to protect you, not be pretty,” Potter replied patiently. “We really need something to practice on like a Boggart than can change into a Dementor-”

“Then I couldn’t do it,” Brown grunted out, only able to get a few wisps of silver out as it was. “I’d be way too scared.”

Kakashi looked beside him to see Neville struggling, similar stands escaping the end of his wand.

“Remember, Neville,” Potter came over. “You’ve got to think something happy.”

“I’m trying,” Neville mumbled out, miserable.

Potter moved off to help someone else and Neville looked back at Kakashi.

“Can you do it?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you try it yet.”

Kakashi brought out his stick and waved it, speaking the incantation.

“ _Expecto Patronum_.”

Nothing happened. Nothing would happen since he was not casting a genjutsu but Neville did not know that.

“I cannot do it either.”

Neville immediately shook off his misery and smiled at Kakashi in support.

“Don’t worry,” he encouraged. “You’re amazing! You’ll definitely get this.”

“We both will,” Kakashi eye-smiled back.

He was glad of his mask as it hid the small smile that emerged as Neville went back to the spell with renewed vigour. Even if he would never cast this spell, Neville could. He just needed a bit of self-belief and Neville did his best when he thought he was helping others.

The door to the room opened and Kakashi pushed himself off the wall when he saw Dobby clutching the bottom of Potter’s robes. The elf was a strange one but he was loyal to Potter without question. Kakashi moved forwards, worst case scenarios already rattling around his head.

“Umbridge?” He heard Potter ask. “Is she coming?”

The pieces clicked in Kakashi’s head and he snapped round, tearing the roster off the wall and shoving it into Neville’s arms. He looked up to see the students torn between staring at him and Potter.

“Umbridge is on her way,” he ordered. “All of you need to go and find somewhere to hide. You will not make it back to the dorms; find somewhere else to hide for the next hour.”

The students did not move until Potter spoke up.

“SHE’S COMING!” he bellowed. “GO!”

There was a mad rush to the exit and Kakashi dodged round them as he waited for Potter. He waved Neville off as Potter spoke with Dobby. Finally, the elf disappeared and Kakashi grabbed Potter by his collar, dragging him out of the room.

“Potter!”

Shit. There was no way that Potter could escape now they have seen him; they would just keep hunting him down. He let off a smoke bomb to buy them some time as they ran.

“There is boys’ bathroom three metres and one left turn up this corridor. You will go there, you will hide and you will remain there until either Pakkun brings you back or I come and get you myself. Understood?”

He did not wait for Potter’s reply as he ran through the seals. He should have just enough time before they reached them. Pakkun appeared and Potter disappeared, Kakashi taking his place. Kakashi could feel the glasses now on his own face and Potter stared back at him in shock, the emotions showing through the _henge_. Kakashi shoved him up the corridor.

“Wait, Kakashi-”

“ **Protect him until I find you later, Pakkun** ,” he called behind him as he waited for them to vanish from sight.

As someone turned the corner Kakashi pretended to run, hitting the deck as something caught him around the ankles. He huffed out a breath in annoyance as Malfoy came cackling up behind him.

“Trip Jinx, Potter!” He said triumphantly. “Didn’t think you could escape did you? Better you gave up now so we didn’t have to go to your common room. Hey Professor! I’ve got one!”

Umbridge rushed round the same corner, beaming at the sight of Kakashi lying on the floor.

“It’s him!” She was jubilant and Kakashi rolled his eyes, frowning as his glasses fell further down his nose. “Fifty points to Slytherin, Draco! Excellent! I’ll take him from here...stand up, Potter.”

Kakashi got slowly to his feet, his _henge_ holding strong. Whatever reprimand they were going to inflict on Potter, he could take it. Umbridge was known for her corporeal punishments and he knew that this could be much worse than the blood quills. Potter also did not know how to keep his mouth shut so hopefully Kakashi could get him out of this unscathed. He was not prepared to leave his charge in Umbridge’s hands so it was better this way; as long as Pakkun could keep Potter hidden. The boy was safer where he was.

“Continue rounding them up,” Umbridge ordered. “Check the library; anyone out of breath, take them in. You, Mr. Potter, can come with me to the Headmaster’s office.”

The office was filled with people; Dumbledore sat behind his desk, with McGonagall standing beside him. A man that Kakashi vaguely remembered as the Minister for Magic was beside the fireplace; he was at Potter’s trial. Shacklebolt from the Order meeting was also in attendance but from the way he avoided looking at Dumbledore, he was not here on their behalf. The final occupant was another Kakashi had seen at Potter’s trial and with his bright red hair, an obvious member of the Weasley clan.

Kakashi remained docile in Umbridge’s grasp as he pushed a bit more chakra into his _henge_. He had been watching Potter for eight months; he could act like him for this meeting.

“Well, well, well...” the Minister mutter at the sight of him.

“He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower,” Umbridge reported, more delighted than she any right to be. “Malfoy caught him.”

“Well, Mr. Potter, I suspect you know why you are here?” the Minister continued.

Kakashi thought over Potter’s reactions to things in the past. They hadn’t presented any proof yet so maybe the ignorant route was the way to go. That was plausible for Potter. He yanked his arm out of Umbridge’s grasp.

“No.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No, I do not.”

“You don’t know why you are here?”

“I don’t know why I’m here.”

Kakashi glanced over at Dumbledore as the Minister exchanged a look with Umbridge. The headmaster stared back and Kakashi closed the eye that held his Sharingan. Dumbledore’s eyes widened for a moment before he replied with a subtle nod, dropping his gaze to the floor.

“So you have no idea why Umbridge brought you here? What school rules you broke?” The Minister continued, sarcasm dripping from each word.

“No.”

“Ministry Decrees?”

“No.”

Kakashi was going to take this denial thing as far as he could take it. It would not hold for long but this would mean they would be forced to bring out any proof they had; that would give him more to work with. No one had picked up that anything was off about him so he was passing off as Potter.

“So it is news to you that there is an illegal student organisation within the school?”

“Yes, it is,” Kakashi replied as he pasted a look of shocked surprise across his face. “I haven’t heard anything about that.”

The Minister stared at him dubiously.

“Perhaps a witness, Minister, to loosen his tongue?”

“Indeed,” the Minister nodded. “Fetch her.”

So they had a traitor? That would explain how they knew about the Room despite being hidden from the outside. Several awkward minutes passed before Umbridge returned with a Ravenclaw girl in tow, her face hidden in her hands. Kakashi was sure he had seen her hanging around Potter’s crush, Chang, but he had no idea who she was.

As Umbridge convinced her to look up, Kakashi smirked as the Minister flinched back so hard he almost stepped into the fire. Granger had done some fine curse work on that roster; the girl’s face had purple pustules spelling ‘sneak’ across her nose and cheeks. Kakashi had no sympathy for traitors; she got what was coming to her. McGonagall shot him a look and Kakashi raised his brows in an innocent expression.

“Ms. Edgecombe came to my office to inform me that if I proceeded to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find something to my advantage. She only got so far as telling me there was a secret training group before the spots appeared on her face and she refused to tell me anything further,” Umbridge explained.

“You did the right thing, my dear,” the Minister spoke to Edgecombe, before he turned to Umbridge. “Do we not have a counter-jinx for this?”

“Not that I’ve been able to find yet,” Umbridge reluctantly admitted. “We also have a witness that reported seeing Potter recruiting students in the Hog’s Head to an illegal society, whose purpose was to learn spells and curses, which the Ministry had determined to be inappropriate-”

“I think you’ll find you are incorrect, Dolores.”

Kakashi stared at the headmaster. If there was a witness at the bar, then that was indeed what was heard. Pakkun reported the same details to him later that day. He turned over the facts in his head as the Minister went on a tangent about impossible scenarios, before Dumbledore’s angle became clear.

“It was not illegal then.”

All faces turned to him.

“When I met up with everyone, it wasn’t illegal yet. You made that decree later so I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kakashi continued, making sure to cross his arms defiantly.

Potter had been defying Umbridge all year; he could not suddenly gain some self-control. He would have to be careful though.

“Even if that first meeting was not illegal, all subsequent meeting over the past six months were,” Umbridge snapped back.

“You can’t prove that there were any more meetings,” Kakashi pointed out.

“And why, Mr. Potter, do you think Ms. Edgecombe is here?” the Minster spoke up snidely.

“Ms. Edgecombe, you can either nod or shake your head, dear; it won’t make the spots worse. Have the meetings been happening regularly over the last six months?”

Kakashi’s mind raced as he tried to think of a way to keep the girl’s mouth shut. If she didn’t speak, they didn’t have a case. Her head moved and Kakashi watched in brief amazement as Edgecombe shook her head. As the Ministry officials around them began to panic, Kakashi muttered under his breath.

“ _Kanashibari no Jutsu_.”

He made sure to only paralyse her upper body, in particular her head, and raised an eyebrow as he caught sight of the terrified look in her eyes. She would only be paralysed until the Ministry officials gave up looking for answers; hopefully, she would also learn to keep her mouth shut in the future. His priority was Potter coming out of this unscathed; he couldn’t leave it to chance that she would keep refusing them.

“Why did you shake your head?” Umbridge demanded. “There was a meeting tonight! Answer me again! Were there meetings? Ms. Edgecombe?”

“I would have thought her meaning was quite clear,” McGonagall cut in. “Unless she is using some form of sign language unknown to humans-”

“Do you have any other evidence, Cornelius, or is our business finished here?” Dumbledore interrupted, clasping his hands in front of him on the desk.

The Minister’s face turned an interesting shade of red and he stood still for a moment, seized by indignation. He had taken a single stomp towards the fireplace when there was a knock at the office door. The group, barring Edgecombe, looked towards the source of the sound as a Slytherin student popped their head through the door.

“Professor? You said to hand in anything we found to you?”

Umbridge’s face brightened and she strode to the door, snatching the familiar piece of parchment out of the student’s hands and speaking with them briefly. She waved them away impatiently.

“Yes, yes, good, you may go.”

She turned back to them and scanned the document. Her beady eyes lit up in triumph as she held out the page to the Minister.

“Here, sir,” she simpered. “All their names, right here for us. Nott let another one go but managed to pick this up in one of the corridors.”

The Minister grabbed the roster, a wide smile growing on his face as he scanned the list. Kakashi distinctly remembered shoving that roster at Neville; how had he managed to lose it?

“And what do we have here?” The Minister smirked over at Kakashi. “Potter’s name, right here on this list, along with...by thunder...”

His head snapped up to stare at Dumbledore. Kakashi cursed as his mind raced to find a way to get Potter out of this.”

“They’ve named themselves ‘ _Dumbledore’s Army_ ’,” he said quietly.

Dumbledore stood and took the parchment out of the Minister’s hands. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as several thoughts flickered across the headmaster’s face, before he smiled.

“Well, the game is up,” he said simply, looking up. “Would you like a written confession, Cornelius? Or will a statement in front of these witnesses suffice?”

McGonagall and Shacklebolt exchanged a fearful look and Kakashi processed his response. Confession? As if Dumbledore was the guilty party? But the students organised this, so why would Dumbledore...?

“Statement?” said the Minister slowly. “What – I don’t – ?”

“Dumbledore’s Army, Cornelius,” Dumbledore waved the list of names, still smiling. “Not Potter’s Army, Dumbledore’s.”

The pieces clicked into place as Kakashi realised what the headmaster was doing. He was going to take the fall to protect Potter and the rest of the students on that list; but he would lose his position as headmaster?

“But...but...you?”

The Minister yelped as he stepped back into the fireplace in shock, immediately jumping away from the flames.

“That’s right,” Dumbledore nodded calmly.

Kakashi cocked his head at the man but the headmaster avoided his gaze. What was his angle?

“You organised this?”

“I did.”

“You recruited these students for – for your army?”

“Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting,” Dumbledore nodded. “Merely to see if they would be interested. I see now it was a mistake to invite Ms. Edgecombe.”

Both the Minister and the headmaster looked towards the girl and Kakashi released the _genjutsu_. She nodded frantically and the Minister looked back at Dumbledore.

“So you _have_ been plotting against me!” he yelled.

“That’s right,” Dumbledore replied cheerfully.

Realisation crashed through Kakashi’s thoughts; Dumbledore knew this might happen. The man’s words from all those months ago came back to him.

_Kakashi. No matter if I am here at Hogwarts or not, even if I am unemployed here, your mission is to remain the same. I did not hire you as Headmaster, I hired you as Head of the Order. Understood?_

He kept his mouth shut as he watched events unfold.

“Well,” the Minister stared at Dumbledore in horrified delight. “I came here expecting to expel Potter but instead-”

“You get to arrest me, “ Dumbledore finished for him. “It’s rather like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, do you not think?”

“Weasley! Did you get everything?”

“Yes, I think so, sir!” The redhead chirped back, his face splashed with ink.

“Now, Albus, you will be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged, then sent to Azkaban to await trial!” The Minister crowed triumphantly.

“Ah,” Dumbledore said gently, a stark contrast to the other man’s exuberant volume. “I thought this might be an issue.”

“Issue?”

“Yes,” Dumbledore continued. “You see, Cornelius, you seem to be under the impression that I will be coming quietly.”

Kakashi watched the wizards around him grab their wands and he took several steps back; his _henge_ might not survive whatever they would throw next.

There was a sudden flash of silver and Kakashi felt someone try to grab his neck. He dodged around the limb and flung himself towards the door, away from the sounds of bangs and shrieks and thuds that made their way out of the cloud of smoke where the wizards had stood. Dumbledore would be fine and protecting him was not detailed in any of the objectives the man had added on throughout the year.

The dust began to clear and Kakashi spotted McGonagall hovering over Edgecombe on the floor, Dumbledore standing above them. Kakashi stood from his crouch and approached them, shrugging at the glare from the deputy headmistress.

“Harry, make sure to continue your Occumency lessons, alright?” Dumbledore levelled a look towards him, and Kakashi got the message. “And keep an eye on Mr Hatake; he is going to need you.”

Kakashi nodded shortly as the Ministry officials around them began to stir. Dumbledore’s bird hovered over him and with a clasp of his hands, he vanished.

The Minister barely even looked at them as he dismissed Edgecombe and Kakashi off to bed. As Kakashi stepped of the last stone step, he sighed heavily and trudged off to find Potter.

* * *

Harry scowled at the latest notice from the Ministry.

_BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC_

_Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced_

_Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of_

_Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_The above is accordance with Educational Decree_

_Number Twenty-Eight._

_Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic_

What happened had made its way through the entire castle by breakfast: Dumbledore had taken down two Aurors, the High Inquisitor, the Minister for Magic and his Junior Assistant to make an epic escape and Marietta Edgecombe and Harry Potter were there to witness the whole thing.

Except that Harry wasn’t there; Harry had been hiding in a bathroom for two hours with a pug nipping at his feet every time he tried to leave. Kakashi had eventually turned up, still wearing Harry’s skin, to take him back to the Gryffindor Tower. The older boy had given him a brief summary of the meeting, seeing as Harry might be questioned on it in the future since it was supposed to be _him there_ , but no details.

The shinobi was still giving him the cold shoulder, even after two months. Harry still didn’t know if Kakashi was a good or bad guy and his latest actions had done nothing to help solve the issue. Why would Kakashi let himself be taken in Harry’s place if he was still so mad at him? Plus it’s not like there was any real danger?

Loads of other students had asked him for a first-hand account and Harry had struggled with the bare bones that Kakashi had given him; for most of the curious students, Harry had cited that he’d been told to keep quiet by McGonagall. Most had bought it as unlike Umbridge or Fudge, the Transfiguration teacher had the respect of the student population. He’d even heard from Ernie that the Head’s office had sealed itself so Umbridge couldn’t get inside.

“Hey, we need to borrow Kakashi.”

Harry looked up as the twins swooped to join them at their part of the Gryffindor table. He looked over to the shinobi, who had been ignoring them the entirety of lunch. Other than to inform him of the meeting the previous night, Kakashi hadn’t spoken a word.

“I mean, sure,” Harry shrugged. “It’s not like I have control over him or anything.”

“Nice.”

“Hey, Broody!”

The twins quickly moved on and Harry watched them go. He wondered if the twins would be so quick to speak to the shinobi if they knew what he had done. He felt a breath on his head and looked up into the jowls of the caretaker.

“The Headmistress wants to speak to you, Potter,” Filch leered.

He looked back at Ron and Hermione and shrugged; he stood and followed the caretaker out of the Great Hall. They soon came to Umbridge’s office and Filch poked him head in, announcing his arrival. Harry shuffled in, sifting uncomfortably at the sight of the pink walls and kittens. It really was too much.

“Now, Mr. Potter,” Umbridge smiled in a manner Harry was sure was supposed to be non-threatening. “Have a seat, please. What would you like to drink?”

“What?” He must have misheard her.

“Drink, Mr. Potter.” Umbridge bared her teeth. “I have pumpkin juice, water, tea?”

“Nothing, thank you,” Harry watched her warily.

“I must insist you have a drink with me, Mr. Potter,” Umbridge’s smile started to crack. “Now what will you have?”

“Tea, then.”

Umbridge busied herself with making the tea, placing the cup in front of him.

“Now after last night’s debacle, I thought we should have a little chat,” she said gaily. “Make sure to drink up while it’s hot!”

Harry stared down at the cup as the steam curled up from its surface. She was up to something; there was no way she was suddenly going to be nice to him.

Suddenly, Kakashi’s impassive stare entered his thoughts. The shinobi would kill him himself he found out Harry drank something from a known enemy; the shinobi didn’t trust Harry to look after himself and here Harry was, about to prove him right! He had that weird tattoo Kakashi put on him at the beginning of the year to filter out poisons but who knew if it would work for whatever was in here.

“What’s the matter?” Umbridge asked. “Do you want sugar?”

“No,” Harry said, raising the cup to his lips and pretending to drink.

He kept his mouth firmly closed.

“Good, excellent...,” Umbridge muttered under her breath. “Now, where is Albus Dumbledore?”

“No idea,” Harry answered promptly.

“Now, now, Mr. Potter. Take another sip and have a little think. Do you know where Albus Dumbledore is?”

“I have no idea where he is,” Harry repeated, pretending to take another sip.

He really didn’t. He hadn’t even been there last night; he was the last person the Ministry should be asking. Not that they knew that.

“What about Sirius Black; do you know where he is?”

Harry’s stomach sank and he shook his head quickly.

“No, no I don’t.”

Umbridge stared at him for a long moment before she stood, walking around to stand in front of her desk.

“Mr. Potter, the might of Ministry is behind me. A Floo Network Regulator is monitoring every single fireplace in the castle – except my own, of course – and my Inquisitorial Squad is checking every single piece of mail that comes near this school. If I find any evidence...”

BOOM!

The room shook from a distant explosion and Harry’s cup clattered to the ground.

“Go back to lunch, Potter!” Umbridge demanded as she raised her wand and rushed out of the office.

Harry left the office to find Kakashi leaning casually against the doorframe. He narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not going to stop me from going to see what’s going on, are you?”

Kakashi pushed off the wall and started leading the way to the commotion himself. Harry hurried to keep pace.

“Are you not worried that it will put me in danger or something?” Harry huffed as the commotion grew louder.

“It will not harm you,” the shinobi replied coldly.

Harry rolled his eyes as they finally came to the source of the uproar. An enormous crate of magical fireworks had been set alight in the castle corridors; multiple creatures swooped through the halls, leaving sparkles in their wake and a cursing Headmistress trailing behind. A wide grin broke out across Harry’s face as he watched the chaos unfold. Having seen enough, Harry managed to track down Fred and George who were laughing in a corridor nearby.

“This is amazing!” he laughed as he approached the twins.

“Cheers, Harry,” Fred grinned.

“I would say it was some of our finest work,” George agreed, trying to keep down his chuckles.

“Hope she tries Vanishing them next,” Fred snorted as he watched Umbridge struggle. “They multiply by ten!”

“But they’ll know it was you,” Harry frowned, the mirth dying down slightly. “They’ll check our wands to see who lit them.”

The twins exchanged a look Harry couldn’t read.

“Good thing we didn’t use a wand to light them then,” Fred tapped Harry’s shoulder. “We just made them but they can’t prove that since there’ll be none left.”

“Until we start selling them but we won’t still be in punishable range by then!” George finished cheerfully.

Harry laughed with them but couldn’t help but ponder their words. They hadn’t used a wand to light them; so how had they? His gaze was drawn to Kakashi who was watching the chaos with a peaceful look on his face. The twins had spoken to the shinobi just before Umbridge had summoned him; but there was no way that Kakashi would get involved in a prank like this.

There was just no way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kanashibari no Jutsu – Temporary Paralysis Jutsu


	26. Cognizance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to have stumbled into a monthly update schedule? So hopefully expect a chapter once a month? I have just looked at my publishing history over the past few months and this was not on purpose but we're going with it?
> 
> Also this is a very Kakashi-centric chapter compared to usual so I hope you enjoy! The next chapters will branch back out to the other characters but every time I read through this chapter, I couldn't bring myself to change anything!
> 
> Enjoy!

The fireworks continued late into the night and Kakashi could not regret that he had contributed to this event, even as the bangs and whizzes frazzled his nerves. There had been many battles in the past where the sound of an explosive tag could have meant the end of your team and that reactive instinct was deeply ingrained within him.

He had been ready to refuse the twins when they had initially approached him but when he had seen Filch escort Potter away, he figured a distraction would come in handy. Anything to get Potter out of Umbridge’s reach. The chaos that erupted should really have been a given with the Weasley twins involved but Kakashi could admit that he had enjoyed the display. They had not had fireworks back in Konoha in a long time; having what are essentially explosive tags going off in a village full of soldiers was not a wise move. It was why they had lanterns; same light show without the sound triggers.

He had been prepared for these, at least, and Umbridge had spent the whole day miserably chasing after them. Every time she had staggered furiously into a classroom, covered in sweat and soot, it had brought a small spark of joy to Kakashi’s soul.

The next day the fireworks had finally burnt themselves out and Kakashi was back outside Snape’s classroom, waiting for Potter to finish up with his Occlumency lesson. He had no idea why Dumbledore had insisted he stayed outside for these sessions; but at least with the headmaster gone he could finally focus on his mission objectives without a new one being added at random. Some of the strain had been removed but a different kind of pressure had replaced it.

Umbridge in power was a troubling sign for the direction the wizards were heading; Potter was more vulnerable than ever. How were the wizards supposed to fight an enemy that they would not acknowledge exists? Voldemort could walk up to Potter in Hogsmeade and no one would lift a finger, except perhaps the teachers. The kids could not fight; they were coming along well in their underground training sessions but not far enough to survive a war just yet. Kakashi was the only line of defence that Potter had and it was more apparent than ever.

Snape had left with Malfoy a short while ago, leaving Potter in the classroom alone. Kakashi had no idea what he was up to but he was safe and that was all he had to be concerned about. His interactions with Potter and the rest of the trio had settled into an uncomfortable silence and he was determined to keep it that way.

There were times in the past two months when he felt the urge to speak up outside the bounds he had set for himself, to make a comment or offer advice or state an observation, but he had stopped himself. There was no need for him to do that. It would not help him in his mission or keep Potter any safer. He did not want those feelings of regret once again; that hollow disappointment when he had realised where their priorities were had stuck with him. It was easier to stick to the role that they had decided for him.

It was harder than it had been eight months ago.

Snape swept past him, throwing him a dirty look, and went through the doorway into the classroom. Kakashi rolled his eyes; Snape had had a bad experience with a shinobi and had decided that they were all alike. Not his problem as long as the professor kept it to himself.

Kakashi snapped to attention as a loud clatter came from the door and he threw himself into the classroom.

“You will not repeat what you saw to anybody!” Snape screamed at Potter.

The boy was on the floor, gaping up at the fuming teacher. Snape’s face was white in fury and his fists were clenched and shaking. Kakashi gripped Potter’s arm and hauled him to his feet, shoving the boy behind him.

“No-I-I won’t-”

“He will not,” Kakashi nodded sharply.

Snape scoffed.

“Get out! I never want to see either of you in this office again!”

Kakashi was quickly shoving Potter out the door when his instincts flared up. He whipped around and caught a large jar of dead bugs. Unimpressed, he chucked it to the side as he stared down the fuming professor.

“Potter obviously did something so I will forget this attack,” he said calmly. “If you ever try something like that again, I will respond accordingly.”

He left the man in the room and escorted Potter out, the shock preventing the boy from fighting back. Kakashi did not lead him back to the common room but to an empty corridor three floors away. He let go and stared at Potter; he was still unresponsive.

“Potter.”

Nothing.

“Potter!”

He finally looked back at him, a lost look in his eyes.

“Kakashi.”

“What did you do?”

“I-”

Potter fell silent for a long moment.

“I-I just got curious,” Potter admitted quietly. “I looked into Snape’s memories and I saw my father and Sirius... _bullying_ Snape. Acting like Snape always said they did.”

Potter became more frantic with each word that left his mouth.

“My dad was like Malfoy; he was a horrible bully and arrogant and made Snape absolutely miserable!”

“So you did it again?”

Kakashi fought the urge to sigh. At least Potter delving into his past was not a personal thing; judging from this, Potter just could not help himself.

“Did what again?”

“Potter, you had no right to see Snape’s memories without his permission. You do realise that?”

Potter’s mouth gaped open slightly before he snapped back.

“I know! I do, I just, he was hiding something so I had to know and-”

“But why do you feel like you have the right to know?” Kakashi had wanted to ask this for two months. “Why do you feel important enough that everyone must be hiding something that you have to know? Why do you think that people’s secrets revolve around you?”

“I-”

Potter looked so confused, like that had never even occurred to him.

“Because every time, my whole life, people’s secrets have hurt me,” Potter said, like it should have been obvious. “The Dursleys kept my heritage a secret, every year a teacher tries to kill me, the Ministry constantly lies to and about me. I need to know so I can be prepared; I don’t know where Voldemort is going to come at me next. I don’t know who I can trust. I don’t know who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy.”

When he put it like that, Kakashi could sort of understand. From Potter’s point of view, in the past, when someone around him had a secret it would end up hurting him. This had resulted in Potter’s warped sense of entitlement when it came to wanting to know people’s history. While Kakashi still uncomfortable with what Potter had done, he could understand where it had come from.

“Potter,” Kakashi sighed. “The odds are against you in this war and you do not help yourself when you pull stunts like this.”

“But I-” Potter started but Kakashi levelled a glare at him.

“I will not always be here. The adults in your life are not here for you and your classmates are not ready. You need to let go of this need to dig around in others’ lives because it ultimately does not matter; it will only drive your allies away. There are other ways to determine who your enemies are. You need to focus on the more important objectives in this fight. Do you understand?”

Potter just gaped back at him as Kakashi fired on, not waiting for his reply.

“You also need to drop this idea of ‘good and bad’. There is no ‘we are good, they are evil’; that is childish thinking that will only hold you back. There is your side and their side; your reason to fight and theirs. Right and wrong, good and bad, that is all subjective. All that matters is what you are fighting for and what you are willing to do to win.”

Kakashi took a deep breath. He had been dying to drive this into Potter’s skull for months. This ultimately was not the kid’s fault; he had probably been told again and again that Death Eaters are evil, people who kill are evil, people who fight them are good. There was no room for grey in wizarding culture. How was Potter supposed to know any different if there was no one to teach him? It was a common theme that Kakashi had noticed not just in Potter but in everyone here; morality was black and white with no in between. It was so different to back home it was frustrating.

Watching Potter think over his words, Kakashi reluctantly accepted that his grudging silence was over. He would not forget what happened and he would much more careful with what he shared with Potter in the future, but he got where Potter was coming from now. As long as the kid kept his opinions on Kakashi’s life to himself, they would be fine.

“Why did you let yourself be taken in my place yesterday? Even though you’ve been so mad at me?”

Kakashi could not read the look in Potter’s eyes.

“I am here to protect you,” he shrugged. “I could not predict the punishment that Umbridge would inflict so it was safer for me to receive it instead. It does not matter how I feel; that is my mission.”

Kakashi began to firmly guide Potter towards the Gryffindor Tower.

“I am on your side, Potter. You may not be able to decide if I fit your ideas of ‘good or evil’ but you can never doubt that.”

Silence fell over them as they walked through the empty corridors.

* * *

A few days later, it was the first day of what Kakashi had been told was the Easter holidays. No one had actually explained what Easter was so Kakashi had just accepted it as another one of those wizard holidays like Christmas or Valentine’s. Kakashi had started sitting closer to the trio again, if not with them, which he thought was more than enough.

“What do you mean we only have six weeks left?” Weasley demanded.

“How does this come as a shock?” Granger replied, exasperated. “The exams haven’t changed date or anything; they’ve always been there, we’ve been talking about them all year.”

“Yeah, it’s just I didn’t expect them to creep up like that,” Weasley shrugged. “There’s been a lot going on.”

There was a moment’s pause.

“Kakashi, do you want me to make you a revision timetable?” Granger smiled hesitantly at him.

He raised an eyebrow at the figurative olive branch. While he was not ignoring them anymore, things were still tense between him and the trio. They almost did not know how to act with the knowledge they had of him. He often caught Granger looking at him with sad, pitiful eyes and it made him want to stab something. Weasley had not changed much although he was more open with his distaste. It made it hard to go back to how it had been before, so although he did not ignore them he found he had nothing to say.

“Thank you, Granger-san, but I have already planned out my studies,” he nodded to her. “I plan to take these exams in English so I needed to prepare accordingly.”

“Wait, you can read and write in English now?” Granger asked in surprise. “Without the translation necklace?”

“Yes.”

Kakashi thought it might make the exams a little more intellectually challenging that way. He had been practicing all year and now he could see if it had paid off. While the content of the exams had little use for him, learning a new language could be beneficial in the future.

“Unbelievable,” Weasley muttered under his breath.

Kakashi could not help but notice that Potter remained silent. The boy had been off since that final Occlumency lesson.

The door to the common room opened and Neville stepped through, clutching a pile of books in his arms. He stopped in the middle of the room as he spotted Kakashi, looking remarkably like a genin caught in an ambush, and immediately changed directions, heading away from him. Kakashi frowned. Neville had been avoiding him since the night Dumbledore was forced to leave and for the life of him, he could not figure out what he had done to make his friend act this way.

Kakashi stood, closed his book and climbed up the stairs after Neville. He came to the dorm room and saw the other boy sitting on his bed, his head in his hands.

“Neville?”

Neville’s head snapped up and Kakashi watched him harshly wipe tears away.

“Oh hey, hey, Kakashi. I’m sorry, did you need something?”

Kakashi closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, folding his arms.

“What’s wrong?”

Neville held it together for a mere moment before he slumped, guilt crumpling his figure.

“Why are you even still talking to me?”

Kakashi shook his head, unfolding his arms as he took a step forward.

“I have no reason to avoid you.”

Neville stood abruptly, throwing his hands up as he paced away from Kakashi.

“I let you down! I let everyone down! You gave me the list for DA and I lost it! Dumb, bumbling, useless Neville screws up once again and ruins everything! Dumbledore’s gone because of me!”

Kakashi stared at his friend in shock. He had been carrying this with him since that night? Of course he knew it was not Neville’s fault; he would not have given up the roster willingly. If there was a choice between Umbridge capturing Neville or the roster then they could have that piece of paper any day of the week.

He stepped forward and grabbed Neville’s hands from where they had been white-knuckling his hair. He gently coaxed them back to his sides and guided him to sit back on the bed. Once Neville was sitting, Kakashi took a large step back to create some distance. Physical contact still made him uneasy. Neville would never hurt him but after so many years it was a hard habit to break, but he could not watch his friend hurt himself. He crouched so he was at eye-level.

“I never want to hear you use that language to describe yourself.” Kakashi bore his gaze into Neville’s eyes, trying to make the message stick. “Dumbledore-sama was always going to leave. That is not your fault; the Ministry was looking for any reason to get rid of him. You cannot take responsibility for that.”

“But if I had just managed to not lose that list-” Neville tried to argue but Kakashi shut it down.

“Were you almost caught by the Slytherins that night?”

Neville looked thrown.

“I mean, yeah, Theodore Nott almost got me near the History of Magic classroom. I only got away ‘cause of all that running you made us do.”

“If I had to choose between them capturing you and getting that roster, then I would give them that roster myself.”

“Really?” Neville’s voice was small.

“Remember what I said before? Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”

Kakashi smiled although Neville would not be able to see it underneath his mask.

“This outcome was inevitable, Neville. There was nothing you could have done. If they had not got their hands on that roster, then it would have been something else.”

He could see a weight begin to lift from Neville’s shoulders; it was not all the way there but it was at least a start.

“You have just got to promise to stop avoiding me, okay?”

“Okay,” Neville huffed out in a laugh. “I promise.”

It was weird to be on this side of the conversation.

Kakashi could remember a version of this conversation with Gai not long before he left; it had not gone as well as this one. Kakashi had run away and taken a three month long mission; he almost had not come back. Was this how Gai felt about him when he had tried to talk to him back then? How different would things be if he had listened instead of run?

“Now,” Kakashi rose from his crouch. “We have exams to study for.”

Neville let out a more genuine laugh as he also stood.

“Thanks for that reminder,” he sniffed. “I’m so behind on Potions.”

“I have notes you can borrow.”

“Oh thank Merlin.”

* * *

The holidays passed uneventfully, filled with frantic cramming and many late night trips to the library. Kakashi had never seen Potter and Weasley look at a book for so long. It was easy to keep his distance from them as everyone in their year was so busy studying they hardly noticed each other. While Kakashi was okay with occasionally speaking to them, if he could avoid it he would.

He was not quite ready to completely forgive and forget yet; he knew they were not finished digging around. They could not help themselves.

It was the last day before classes started up again and they were in the common room, shifting through a pile of pamphlets that had been dumped on them. Kakashi kept his hands to himself as he peered at the spread on the table from his place on the furthest away armchair; there were some strange careers here. Security trolls, magical accidents, curse-breaker, muggle relations. As he hung back and listened to the trio discuss their future, the difference between them was more apparent than ever.

Kakashi was a shinobi; he always had been and he always would be. It was who he was and he knew one day he would go down fighting on a mission for his village. There had never been anything else. There was something comforting about knowing that he would always have his purpose in life; he would never have to doubt his future within the village. He knew what he was going to be doing for the rest of his life.

The same could not be said for the students of Hogwarts.

“Well, I don’t fancy Healing,” Weasley frowned. “They ask for way too bloody much!”

“It is Healing, Ron,” Granger rolled her eyes. “It’s a lot of responsibility and probably a lot of work. They need to know you can handle it.”

Kakashi noted the twins creeping up to Potter and he leaned back his chair, crossing his arms.

“Hey Harry, Ginny told us that you wanted to talk to Sirius?”

The twins settled on the couch, sandwiching Potter between them and sending a pile of pamphlets to the floor as they flung their feet up onto their table. Kakashi had overhead Potter and the youngest Weasley in the library that day so he knew Potter’s intentions, but he had not tried anything over the holidays.

“Yeah, I do,” Potter replied quietly but Granger cut in.

“And how do you expect to do that?” she frowned. “Umbridge is frisking the owls and has essentially locked all the fireplaces. You’ll get caught and Sirius will get arrested.”

“Not if I use Umbridge’s fireplace,” Potter retorted, leaning forward. “She said it herself, that one isn’t being watched.”

Kakashi made sure to keep his expression blank, even with his mask in its rightful place. There it was; the dumb plan that only Potter could come up with.

“Are you insane?” Granger hissed.

“How would you accomplish this?”

Everyone’s head snapped to Kakashi but he kept his eye on Potter. The boy’s spine straightened.

“I have a knife from Sirius; it’ll let me open any lock.”

“And how will you guarantee that Umbridge will not return to her office that that precise moment?”

Before Potter could answer, Fred jumped in.

“That’s where we come in,” he grinned mischievously. “We’ll set something off in the east wing and buy him, what, twenty minutes?”

“About twenty minutes,” George nodded and they fist-bumped over Potter’s head. “It’s gonna be epic.”

Kakashi considered the three of them for a long moment before he conceded.

“I will give you fifteen.”

The plan was set for five o’clock the next evening. Kakashi knew if he did not go along with this plan then they would try to come up with one without him; it was just easier to let them think they were in control.

The day passed quickly and soon enough it was Defence Against the Dark Arts and Umbridge was in a foul mood. Kakashi sent a suspicious look towards Potter; the other boy had just come from a career consultation. He must have done something.

The bell rang and they shuffled out the classroom, Granger still trying to talk Potter out of the plan. Kakashi could see the conflict within Potter but the boy was going to do this; he needed to do this for reasons known only to him. Kakashi was just there to stop him from getting caught. Umbridge came flying past as the twins’ diversion kicked up in the distance and Potter hesitated for only a second before he darted back to the classroom.

When Potter reached the corridor, he donned the invisibility cloak and moved carefully under the gaze of the suits of armour. Kakashi followed above as he walked along the ceiling, pushing chakra to his ears as he kept track of Potter’s footsteps. Potter poked the knife out of the cloak and jammed into the gap of Umbridge’s door, wiggling it until the door popped gently open. Kakashi sped down the wall as Potter slipped into the room and he swung himself inside, closing the door silently behind him.

Potter flung the cloak off and headed to the fireplace, searching each crevice until finally finding a box. He knelt in front of the fireplace, his hands shaking, as Kakashi took up guard near the door.

“Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!”

Potter stuck his head directly into the fire and Kakashi fought the urge to drag him out of there. He did not appear to be in any distress so he was not hurt by the flames. He settled in to wait, listening for the sounds of anyone approaching the office.

It must have only been about ten minutes when Kakashi heard distant footsteps approaching. He cocked his head; those steps were definitely coming to this office. He moved quickly, sweeping up the cloak from the ground and grabbing Potter’s collar, dragging him back out of the fireplace.

“Wait, Sirius-” Potter yelped. “Kakashi, what the hell?”

“Someone is coming,” Kakashi replied shortly. “Do not make a sound.”

He threw the invisibility cloak over Potter and the student vanished. He grabbed the boy around the waist and ignoring the shriek, ran up the wall to hide in the corner of the ceiling. Potter squirmed in his grip and Kakashi hissed at him to quit moving; at this angle the cloak could hide them both.

Filch entered the office below them and went to the desk, opening one of the drawers and rifling through the papers inside. Grabbing one and kissing it with a wet squelch, he left the room, muttering to himself about some kind of torture technique.

Kakashi waited until the footsteps faded before he dropped carefully to the ground. He dropped Potter to the floor and he rolled out of the cloak, glaring up at him.

“Was that really necessary?” He growled, heaving himself up from the stone floor. “I could’ve just hidden under the cloak on the floor.”

“I will not allow you to get caught just so you can be a bit more comfortable,” Kakashi responded, allowing his voice to hold a faint mocking tone. “Now, we are done here. Put the cloak on and go.”

Potter was still grumbling as they left Umbridge’s office.

* * *

He pulled Rin’s scarf tighter around him as he sat beside Potter in the topmost seats of the Quidditch stadium. Kakashi still did not understand the point of Quidditch. While it was adept in enhancing their reflexes and situational awareness, he could come up with at least a dozen exercises that were more efficient. It was not to prepare them for future battles either. His past musings on the ‘sport’ still stood; the entire academy was obsessed with a pastime that had no practical or realistic value outside the players themselves.

The matches themselves were awful to attend. There was screaming and singing and crying and it all grated on Kakashi’s ears. The smells were overwhelming for his sensitive nose and the amount of people that bumped into him was almost intolerable. After every match, Kakashi always thought he would be quite happy to never see another human again. It was just too much but he did not have a choice; Potter was obsessed with these spectacles.

Kakashi turned to stare at Hagrid as the man failed to stealthily make his way to them. He had no idea how Potter and Granger had not noticed the giant man yet. The man had been injured, with blood still leaking from his nose, and he stuck out like a genin in an ANBU uniform.

“Harry, Hermione.”

Potter startled next to him.

“Can yeh come with me? Now? While ev’ryone’s lookin’ the other way? At the match?”

“Hagrid?” Potter frowned. “Can it not wait until after? Ron’s playing.”

“No, it ‘as to be now,” the groundskeeper shook his head.

“Yeah, of course, Hagrid,” Potter finally agreed.

Kakashi stood up with the pair; even he was not stuck with guarding Potter, he would take any opportunity to avoid watching Quidditch. Hagrid threw him a frown as they made their way out of the stadium but Kakashi ignored him. If he wanted Potter, then he got Kakashi too.

Hagrid’s behaviour was erratic; he took long, quick strides and kept looking over his shoulder as if expecting someone to jump out at him. The man was scared but of what Kakashi could not entirely figure out. He was scared of getting caught, obviously, but caught doing what? They were heading in the direction of the forest but the woodland was vast; it could be anything in there.

They passed by Hagrid’s home and Potter and Granger stopped. Hagrid continued to the edge of the forest before he realised he was alone.

“What ‘re you doin’? C’mon, quick, before someone sees!”

“Wait, into the forest?” Granger blurted out.

“Yeh, now c’mon!”

Kakashi followed behind the two students as they hesitantly entered the forest. He hung back slightly, tuning out the following conversation about Firenze and centaurs to listen out for the sound of anyone approaching. While on still on alert, he could feel some of the tension that had built up over the past few weeks leave him. He liked the Forbidden Forest; it was the closest he could get to being back home in Konoha. A soft breeze brushed between the trees and sunlight was scattered on the forest floor where it broke through the roof of leaves over their heads. There was a quiet here that could never be found back at the castle.

They continued to follow the groundskeeper deeper in the forest, the path soon becoming overgrown and the sunlight vanishing completely. Kakashi kept vigilant but could not help but notice Potter and Granger’s discomfort. As Hagrid veered off the path completely, Potter spoke up abruptly.

“Hagrid!” He fought through a bush. “Where are we going?”

“Bit further.” Hagrid did not turn back. “C’mon, we ‘ave ter keep together now.”

Kakashi watched the two student struggle. He could help them; his kunai would hack through the foliage easily and he knew his way around a forest. He stopped as Granger untangled her robes from a thicket of thorns. He could but he will not. He was there to protect Potter; not to save him from every inconvenience. They may have reached a truce but Kakashi was still not prepared to go above and beyond his mission objectives anymore than he had to.

“Are you just going to stand there?” Potter turned to him in a huff, a new tear in his sleeve.

“Yes.” Kakashi stared back at him.

“Seriously? You’re not even going to pretend to help?”

“You agreed to go with Hagrid-san; I did not,” Kakashi shrugged.

Potter whipped back around to start on the next set of bushes and Kakashi could not help the smirk that rose up as he picked up Potter’s muttering of ‘lazy bastard’. The pair continued to follow Hagrid deep into the woods and Kakashi strained his ears to listen for enemies, but there were none. Not even animals appeared to have ventured this far into the forest. His eye adjusted quickly to the darkness but the same could not be said for the students.

“Hagrid, is it okay if we light our wands?” Granger spoke up hesitantly.

“Er... all righ’,” Hagrid whispered. “We bes’ jus’ stop fer a momen’, I’d bett’r fill yeh in.”

Granger and Potter soon lit their wand and Kakashi blinked at the sudden brightness. A twig suddenly snapped to their left and Kakashi cocked his head, trying to listen.

“I will be back,” he said. “Do not move.”

“Wai’, it’s dangerous-”

Kakashi silenced the groundskeeper with a look.

“I will be back,” he repeated slowly, before he darted into the overgrowth.

The sound had been nearby. He was confident that it could not pass him to get to Potter and the boy had the other two with him. He danced through the thorns and hanging branches, finally coming to the area of the sound’s origins. A broken arrow lay on the ground but there was no indication that there had been recent activity to leave it there. It was old and had been stepped on, but there was no other evidence. Something had been here though, he was sure of it. Perhaps it was time to go; Hagrid be damned. Kakashi may have felt at home in these trees but Potter was not safe here.

As that thought crossed his mind, a distant roar reached him. Cursing, he _shunshined_ to Potter’s last position. The group was not there and Kakashi shoved chakra to his nose, locking onto Potter’s scent and performing _shunshin_ once more. He materialised in a massive clearing, hands already moving into his next jutsu.

“Wait, Kakashi-”

He did not listen as he slammed his hands down.

“ _Dōton: Ganchūrō no Jutsu_!”

Large round pillars rose from the earth to trap the giant beast, restricting their movements. They roared, breaking a couple of them but Kakashi pushed more chakra into the technique and soon enough they were immobilised.

He had never seen anything quite like them. At least ten foot high, probably taller even now that he could see they were kneeling, they had coarse grey skin and round, brown eyes that had blown wide with panic. A round head and a stubby nose, with large yellow teeth on full display as they roared again.

“Wha’ are yeh doin’? Let ‘im go!” Hagrid bellowed.

Kakashi stood, still holding a defensive stance in front of Potter and Granger.

“No,” he growled. “He is a threat and you are irresponsible for bringing your students here.”

“He wouldn’ hurt anyone! You scared ‘im!” He had never seen the man so angry. “Grawp jus’ doesn’ know ‘is own strength!”

“And that is why he is chained up?” Kakashi answered dryly. “Because he would not hurt them?”

“He jus’ doesn’ understand! He can learn!”

“And that is why you brought Potter and Granger here? To help him learn even if you are banished from Hogwarts?”

Hagrid’s plan came together in Kakashi’s mind and he was ready to release Grawp so the creature could kill Hagrid itself. Umbridge was one lesson away from firing Hagrid and once the man was gone, presumably there would be no one to watch over Grawp. So the man thought he would ask barely trained, already in danger, impressionable students who were uninformed of the full extent of the risks involved do it for him instead of taking responsibility for his own actions; and they would agree because they liked the man and did not want him to fall into more trouble.

Never mind the trouble for themselves if they were caught. This man was supposed to be their sensei; he was taking advantage of the trust that the students had in him. He should never have put them in this position. He should never have taken responsibility for Grawp if he did not know if he could handle it.

“He jus’ needs someone ter talk ter him!” Hagrid sent pleading looks behind Kakashi. “Jus’ to teach ‘im a bit.”

“No,” Kakashi stated with finality. “I will not be allowing Potter nor any other student to navigate this forest to teach a beast that would kill them if given the opportunity.”

“It’s no’ up to you!” Hagrid yelled back.

“Then will you be taking responsibility when their bodies turn up?” Kakashi finally snapped. “This forest is full of dangerous creatures and that is before Grawp is taken into consideration. When their remains are found weeks later, are you going to inform their families?”

Hagrid opened his mouth but no sound came out.

“Potter and Granger will not be coming here a second time and you will never mention Grawp to them again,” Kakashi hissed. “If I find out you have lured any other students out here, Umbridge will not need to search for a reason to dispose of you.”

He heard gasps behind him but paid them no heed. He was serious; he would not allow this foolish man to use his position endanger students out of desperation to make up for an ill-fated judgement. He turned to Potter and Granger.

“You will not tell anyone of Grawp, do you understand?”

There must be something in his gaze as both students agreed immediately. Potter usually would have tried to argue but Granger was still shaking beside him, glancing at the giant caught between the pillars.

Kakashi crouched and placed his hands flat, retracting his jutsu. Grawp immediately began to attempt to tear the trees he was shackled to out of the ground, furious eyes locked onto Kakashi. He turned to Hagrid.

“We are leaving.”

He grabbed the students’ shoulders and marched them the way they came, not bothering to wait for the groundskeeper. The man soon caught up them and an uncomfortable silence descended upon them. It was a while later that Kakashi stopped, grabbing Potter and Granger and shoving them behind him once more. The same noise from earlier, but much closer; he was not about to leave the pair in Hagrid’s care again however.

“I thought we told you, Hagrid,” a voice spoke from the undergrowth. “That you are no longer welcome here?”

A centaur stepped into view and Kakashi palmed his kunai. He had his weapon slung on his back but he could hear others around them; they were the ones who most likely had their weapons pointed at them.

“How are yeh, Magorian?” Hagrid replied warily.

“I thought we warned you about showing your face in the Forest again,” Magorian narrowed his eyes, five other centaurs coming into view around them. “You forfeited your friendship with the centaurs when you interfered with our ways, our laws.”

“So interferin’ to stop yeh commitin’ murder is a bad thin’ now?” Hagrid growled.

Kakashi did not move, watching the exchange carefully.

“Firenze dishonoured and betrayed us,” Magorian continued harshly. “He has entered servitude to humans; he is peddling our knowledge, our secrets among them. There is no return from such a disgrace.”

“If yeh say so,” Hagrid shrugged and Kakashi pressed his lips together.

He liked Firenze and his classes but he also respected that the centaurs had a different way of living. With the way that humans had treated centaurs, it was no surprise that they wanted nothing to do with them. Humans had no right to dictate how centaurs should live, behave and govern their laws, much less interfere with them.

“We will allow you to pass today as you are accompanied by your young-”

“They’re not his!” Another centaur cried out contemptuously. “Students from the school who have no doubt already profited from Firenze’s teachings!”

“Nevertheless,” Magorian said calmly. “The slaughter of foals is a terrible crime, so today Hagrid, you shall pass. You will not be so fortunate in the future.”

“I won’ be kept outta the Fores’ by a bunch o’ old mules like you!” Hagrid yelled back, and Kakashi could not keep his silence any longer.

“We are most grateful for your mercy.” He bowed low. “I apologise for Hagrid-san’s ignorance and insubordination but there is nothing I can do about that. All I can offer is the promise is that that these foals and I will not be found within your territory again. I am sorry for the insult that has been paid to you.”

He straightened to see surprise written plainly across Magorian’s face.

“What is your name?”

“Kakashi Hatake.”

“Kakashi Hatake, you are not a wizard.”

He debated it for only a moment; the centaurs would not tell anyone and honesty seemed like the best method of getting them out of there alive and intact.

“I am not, Magorian-sama. I am here on a mission and truly intended no insult for trespassing on your lands. I am here to accompany the foals and nothing more. Magorian-sama, how could you tell?” He asked quickly; he should not have really been able to tell.

“No wizard would have ever bowed to me nor spoken to us in such a manner,” Magorian replied simply.

He waved a hand, taking a step back.

“Go, and keep your promise, Kakashi Hatake.”

He bowed deeply once again before dragging a silent Potter and Granger along with him. He heard Hagrid follow after them after a moment but did not slow down. After a while, they finally came to the edge of the forest once again and Kakashi continued to drag the pair along, heading towards the stadium.

“Wait, Kakashi, what the hell was that?” Potter shook him off. “With the centaurs?”

He let go of Granger and turned to the other boy.

“The Forbidden Forest is their land,” he explained, unsure where the confusion was. “When speaking to a clan leader on their territory, certain levels of manners and protocols are expected.”

“They knew you weren’t a wizard from that?” Granger spoke up, something catching in her voice.

“Of course,” Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.”Wizards do not respect other creatures or beings. A wizard would never defer to a centaur.”

Granger flinched and opened her mouth to refute it but Potter beat her to it.

“Hey, we respect Firenze!” he snapped.”Plus if you’re so respectful of creatures then why did you imprison Grawp instead of hearing Hagrid out?”

“Grawp, as Hagrid himself explained, is unable to communicate,” Kakashi replied dryly. “Judging by the man’s injuries, he is not making progress either. Grawp is infantile at best which combined with the strength to uproot those size of trees can be extremely dangerous. I was not prepared to risk your safety over the word of a man who took you there in the first place.”

The sound of Weasley’s song began to reach them as students piled out of the stadium.

“This discussion is over,” he ordered firmly.

Potter and Granger bristled but keep quiet as students came towards them. Kakashi sighed as they were soon swallowed by the crowd. He would have to keep an eye on the forest to ensure there were no future attempts to enter.

Here he thought his list of objectives would stop growing once Dumbledore left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dōton: Ganchūrō no Jutsu!” – Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison Technique


End file.
